Ultimate Spider-Man: Darkness Falls
by CynderFanForever
Summary: Just as things are beginning to go back to normal, Spider-Man and White Tiger find that a priest has been killed in his own church, and both of them wonder if this might have to do with the Demon Nightmare. As darkness begins to fall, both must find their true strength to defeat him once and for all, while still dealing with their relationship.
1. Prologue: The Church

Ultimate Spider-Man: Darkness Falls

**Prologue: The Church**

The priest walked over to the coffin, and stared inside. He was wondering what had happened to the person inside.

It'd been said that he was poisoned, but he'd seen burn marks and what looked to be rope burns on the body, and now he was wondering what the truth was.

"Could this have something to do with Demons?" he asked himself. It was just too weird.

The man hadn't even had a family, and so no one showed up for his funeral. In the church at that moment, it was only the priest and the body.

"Come on, some one please show me a sign of what truly could have happened!" the priest cried out. His curiosity was very peaked, and it wouldn't stop.

As the priest sat down on one of the benches, he heard the sounds of thunder and lightning outside. He'd never known it would be storming.

He heard footsteps outside the sanctuary. He turned, but did not see anybody standing in the doorway.

"Hello?" the priest called out. "Is someone there?"

But no one answered him. The priest was now scared, and didn't know what was going on. His curiosity peaked even more, and made him want to go out and investigate the strange sounds.

"Hello?" the priest called out again as he made his way to the back of the sanctuary to the exit. "Is someone there? I keep hearing noises, and I don't know if someone is there or not, and if you're some dumb kid, I want to know why you're doing this."

Once more, there was no answer. The priest was still believing this to be some kind of a prank, to be a group of kids who didn't care about the Word.

As the priest exited the sanctuary, he looked around for the kids he believed were causing him trouble.

He didn't see anybody, and so he decided to turn back to go to the front of the sanctuary. He began making his way to the front.

"Come to me," an eerie voice whispered. "Come on, I won't hurt you...much."

Now severely scared of what he was hearing, the priest ran for his life to the front of the sanctuary. The whispers kept coming, scaring him even further. He looked behind him to see if there were any people there. Seeing nobody once more, he decided to go back to looking in front of him, but as soon as he did so, he looked right into the red eyes of a strange man with wild black hair, ash-gray skin, and blood-red eyes.

"Who are you?" the priest asked. "What are you?"

"I'm a Demon," the monster told him in a deep, hard-to-understand kind of voice. "I am Nightmare, and I've come here to give you a message."

"What is it?"

"I want you to know that I will be using this church as a place to resurrect myself from the world I was imprisoned in by Doctor Strange, and you will be unable to stop me. For the last few minutes of power that I have left, I need to tell you that I am the reason for all the movement you have been hearing tonight, and for all the whispers. The truth is, I sadly say, you will not be around for my resurrection."

"You will not succeed," the priest cried to him. "You will be stopped somehow, this I tell you!"

"Oh, shut up!"

Finally done giving the priest his message, Nightmare held a sharp shard of glass up in the air, and the priest closed his eyes, waiting to die.

Nightmare slit the priest's throat, and the blood splattered across the front altar.

"Good riddance," Nightmare growled, who then disappeared into complete nothingness.


	2. Signs

**Chapter One: Signs**

Spider-Man was glad that everything was back to normal. Well, almost. There were still many problems going on in his life, but he didn't care as much as some people did. It was mostly due to the fact he'd finally gotten the girl of his dreams.

While at school, her name was Ava Ayala. But when it came to being a superhero, her name was White Tiger. Both he and she had fallen in love after he'd saved her from the villains known as Taskmaster and Norman Osborn. But the side-effect of the two of them having Osborn locked up in prison was the fact that his son, Harry, now wanted revenge on both Spider-Man and White Tiger. While at school, he'd said it himself. That was something that scared them, but he'd decided that he couldn't completely blame him.

He just hoped it didn't lead to anything.

Looking down on the rooftops, he noticed White Tiger already standing there, waiting for him. When he landed, she said, "What took you so long?"

"Air traffic," he joked. She laughed at that. "So what's going on?"

"Nothing, really," she said. "I just need a break for right now. Every day this week Nick has made me train, and I don't know why he's doing it!"

"Is anyone else there?" Spider-Man asked. "Nova, Power Man, or Iron Fist? Any of them?"

"No," she replied. "It's just me. And I'm not sure."

"Maybe because you broke your ankle the last big mission we had. I mean, it wasn't your fault obviously, but it'd make a little sense, wouldn't you agree? He just wants you to get past that and return to being who you are."

"Possibly. But I need to tell him I want a break. It's getting a little annoying. I sound like Nova, don't I?"

"Not to me. You just sound like my girlfriend for now. Do you want to go somewhere maybe? Ditch these costumes and go on a date?"

"Maybe," she said. "I don't care for being at S.H.I.E.L.D. right now. Norman Osborn is kept up in there, and Fury told me he won't stop asking for me and you. It's getting both annoying and scary."

"I'm surprised there. About Norman, I mean. Do you think we should go and see him?"

"No. He might be able to decode our aliases if we did that. I just don't want that to happen. Especially now that it's all gone back to normal. Know what I mean?"

Spider-Man sighed and said, "Yeah, you're right. That's why, when it comes to the team, we fight for who's the best at brains."

"Well, we don't fight as much now," White Tiger reminded him. "Now let's get out of these things and find somewhere nice. Fortunately it's not even 9 o'clock. We should be able to find somewhere."

"Maybe The Shack? It sounds like a weird name, I know, but—"

"I've been there before, don't worry," she said. "Fury took me there once when he talked to me about being recruited. I wish he'd done the same for you. He did something a little different. But you'd been around a while longer than I had, of course."

"So we go there?"

"Sure. I'll meet you there. Just gotta get something on. See ya!"

She jumped off the building. Spider-Man saw she was becoming a different sort of person now. She hadn't been the way he saw her now before she'd been kidnapped and before they'd fallen in love. But he didn't care. He was just glad things had worked in their favor…mostly.

As Peter Parker, he'd meant to call Harry, but due to being Spider-Man he wasn't able to.

He ran quickly to an alley behind one of the large buildings. His clothes were webbed up in a dark place. But before he could do anything, he saw a man cornering a woman in the alley. He stared down at them. He could see the man meant to hurt her. That made him want to act.

"Hey buddy!" he called. The man looked up at him. "Yeah, you. You shouldn't be doing stuff like that this late at night! Do you understand it's agains the law? How would your mommy and daddy love it?"

"Shut up, Spider-Man!" the man yelled at him. "I want this woman now! You can't stop me, bro!"

_Why would he call me bro? _Spider-Man thought. _Feels weird._

"He may not be able to stop you, but I can!" came White Tiger's voice. She came out of nowhere and kicked him in the back of the head.

Spider-Man smiled under the mask.

_Wow, I love my girlfriend, _he thought to himself.

He jumped down into the alley, wanting to help her just in case. But she seemed like she could take him.

She kicked the mugger right in the face hard. His nose broke, and then she kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious. She went to Spider-Man.

"Are you okay, mam?" Spider-Man asked the woman.

"Yes," she said. "That man was asking me if I was a prophet for this nightmarish monster. It doesn't make sense. Thank you, though. You've helped me much."

She ran off.

"What was she talking about?" Spider-Man asked. "A nightmarish creature? That doesn't make much sense."

"I know," White Tiger said. "But he might just be insane. Anyway, you're welcome for helping. Just wanted to say that. You know how girlfriends are. On TV the boys never say anything when the girl helps them out."

Spider-Man just stared at her.

"Yeah, you have a lot to learn," he said. "But don't worry, I've got your back. Now it's time we go to our restaurant. Do you have your dress ready? Or whatever you're wearing for this date? I really want you to be looking nice tonight."

"Don't worry, Spider," she said. "I've got the perfect thing."

She walked away with him behind her. As he walked, he thought, _Man, my girlfriend is hot._


	3. The Body

**I am really, really, _REALLY _sorry I have not updated in so long. School does not help, and I had trouble thinking this chapter (and some of the story) through. But I'm sure I'll be able to continue on with this story as fast as I possibly can, and so I hope the story will be over by next February or March so I can make the next one for you guys. :)**

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Body**

Peter arrived at The Shack a minute later than he'd meant to, which for him was more of a record. Ava was there at the entrace waiting on him. She was wearing an emerald-green dress.

"You look rather stunning tonight," he complimented. "How's it feel to be out here and not having to worry about 'work,' if you know what I mean?"

"Pretty good," she replied. "I could definitely get used to this." She sighed. "If only life could always be like this. Instead we have to sometimes deal with pain. That's why I'd rather be with you, Pete. Now come on, I already put our name in."

Five minutes later, the two of them were seated. Peter was trying to think of questions to ask Ava, but none were coming to him. That was what annoyed him most of all.

"So…how've you been since the last…tussle?" asked Peter. "I know it was a little hard, right?"

Ava knew he was teasing her, and so she decided that she would go ahead and tell him the truth, but in a better way. "You know I healed real quick," she said. "If I hadn't, then I wouldn't have been there on that rooftop when we made our first kiss. So the next time you attempt that little joke with me, remember that my amulet has a strong bond with me, and if I am hurt, then it will heal me very easily. Do you understand?"

Peter and Ava smiled at one another and remained silent for a little. Peter was still trying to think of something good to say, but it was hard for him. He kept thinking everything through: how he'd met Ava. How he had been able to save her from Taskmaster. And how he had fallen in love. And now, that beautiful girl was sitting there across from him. He couldn't believe how it had all happened. But that didn't matter. He just loved it.

"So, do you want to go to training?" Ava asked. Peter's eyes widened as she finished.

"Wait," he said. "We just got here!"

"No, you idiot!" Ava laughed. "I meant to talk about it. We've been planning some new methods now for fighting. Fury was talking about it to us ever since the incidents with Taskmaster. I just wanted to know if you wanted to join us when we do that."

"I'm good," Peter told her. "I'd rather be with you. I just want to know how everything is going with you. I mean, you're my girlfriend, so I think it's good if we just try to talk about you. But…"

"Peter, it's kind of hard to talk about my life right now," Ava said to him. "I'm not trying to be mean, but you know, there's not much about me that you don't already sort of know. Understand?"

"You've got a point. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do right now. I've never had a girlfriend before, and of course…"

"…You think it would all be like it is on TV," Ava finished for him. "I know what you mean. I've learned well enough from watching _Dawson's Creek._"

She looked around. She wondered what was going on. She felt too different at the moment. Something was in the air that she didn't understand.

Looking around, she suddenly noticed somebody she hadn't been expecting. She had seen him at first, but she'd believed he was just some old guy.

But now she knew who he was.

It was Nick Fury.

"Holy crap," she whispered to herself. She got to her feet. "What in the name of God is he doing here?"

Peter looked over to where she was staring. He noticed Fury and suddenly felt a spike of anger. "My holy God," he said to himself. "I can't believe it."

They went over to Fury. He looked up at them and half-smiled. "Hello," he greeted. "Could I help either of you?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" Peter asked. "We didn't bargain for something like this happening!"

"Well, you got it, now please deal with it to the best of your ability," Fury said to them. "So how is everyone doing tonight? Are you doing good?"

"Have you been watching us?" asked Ava.

"In a way."

"You piece of crap!" Ava exclaimed. "We've been trying to have a normal relationship, but as long as you're here, this isn't going to be helping us at all!"

"What are you talking about?" Fury asked. "I think you should remember, the both of you are under the surveilance of…" He looked around, trying to make sure no one else was listening in on them. "You're both under the surveilance of S.H.I.E.L.D., so no matter what happens, you'll be watched for a long time. Do you understand me?"

"No," Peter said. "We've been hoping to get away from everything for a while, especially after everything that happened last time. You should understand that, unless you have no heart!"

"Oh, I have a heart, but it's been hardened by a who crapload of fighting, so don't expect too much from it," Fury explained to them. "I've nothing more to say on the subject. Besides, I have time to myself tonight. I hope you find nothing wrong with coming to this amazing place."

Before either Ava or Peter could open their mouths again, they heard a commotion coming from outside. They had no idea what was going on. Peter and Ava hurried to get out there, hoping nothing bad was happening.

"What could it be?" Peter asked Ava.

"Not sure," she replied. "I just hope someone isn't hurt. We need to get the costumes on. It's the best way to get access to whatever people are looking at." She looked ahead of her and saw police cars, as well as an ambulance. _Crap, _Ava thought. _It's definitely something really bad. Time to suit up._

Five minutes later, she and Peter were in their respective costumes. They hurried toward the scene and found that the police cars, ambulance, and the crowd of people, were around a church.

When Spider-Man and White Tiger landed on the ground in front of some of the police officers, some of the force attempted to grab them until one officer said, "Let them here. They're on our side."

White Tiger asked the main officer, "What happened here?"

"It's inside," he replied. "Here, let me show you."

She and Spider-Man followed him into the church. More police officers were around the main hall, and some inside the sanctuary. When they entered the sanctuary, Spider-Man heard White Tiger gasp and say, "My God." He couldn't blame here.

A man, dressed in the garb of a priest, lay there on the floor. His eyes were wide open, unbreathing. He was dead. From the looks of it, his throat had been slit.

While White Tiger stood there, unspeaking, Spider-Man turned to the main police officer. "Who or what did this?" he asked.

"We're not sure," he admitted. "From what we have seen, and from what we looked over, there was no sign of forced entry…to be honest, there was no sign of anyone entering. No one seems to have come in here at all. And there are surveilance cameras here in the sanctuary. We've already looked over the tapes, and there's nothing on the tapes, either. No person came in here tonight."

"Well, that's different," Spider-Man said. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, we're quite sure," one of the police officers from behind said. "We've gone over everything we can, and there is nothing here. It's all so strange."

White Tiger heard this, looked down at the body, and just thought to herself, _What could have happened here?_


	4. Thinking

**Chapter Three: Thinking**

Peter was at home, still thinking everything through. His Aunt May had already gone to bed, something he was glad about. He didn't want her to be up at a time like this. Then again, he believed that might have to do with what he'd learned had happened. The memory of the body was still stuck in his mind, and it wouldn't go away. But that, he realized, was not the only thought that was like that.

Ava was there, as well, and he couldn't stop thinking of her. Soon after they'd found the body, she'd decided to leave and go back up to the Tricarrier. Both of them had hated leaving one another, but they guessed it had to be done. And Fury had demanded it of her. Peter couldn't get the fact that Fury had been watching them during their date. It was messed up, he believed. But he would allow Fury to have that little bit of victory for right now. It would not last for long.

He returned his mind to thoughts about the body. He wanted to know what had caused his death. It was so strange, after all. He'd heard the police speak about it, but now he knew none of them had an answer, other than the fact his throat had been slit.

_Something definitely happened. There didn't seem to be a fight in there. If there had been, there most likely would have been more signs of scuffling. Something would be tipped over. But nothing was tipped over. Other than the glass shard that was used to slit his throat, there was nothing else out of the ordinary. I just don't understand why someone would wish to do something like this. None of it seems right._

He put his hands on his temples and rubbed them. It felt better, though he wished Ava could be here to help him feel better. It would be the best thing to happen. But unfortunately, she was not here at the moment. She was up in the Tricarrier, with the stalker known as Nick Fury.

There was the sudden buzzing noise of his phone. He thanked God the ringtone wasn't on. Looking at the caller ID, he saw Ava's name, much to his happiness. He accepted the call and held it up to his ear. "Hello?" he answered.

"Peter, is that you?" came Ava's sweet voice.

"Yeah, it's me," he replied. "What's going on?"

"I was just wondering if you'd been able to figure out what happened with that priest. I'm just not understanding all that."

"Neither am I. But I'm sure we'll find a good answer for it all soon enough. Right now, my minds on a lot of things. Fortunately, one of them is you. But my mind's also on what Fury did to us tonight. That was just screwed up."

"You mean last night," Ava told him. "All that happened last night, Pete." He heard her laugh a little. "But I know what you mean, and I most certainly agree."

Peter sighed. He looked over at his clock and saw it was 2 in the morning. He couldn't believe it. He knew he needed sleep, and he thanked God that there was no more school until the next week. That was the good thing about break. And that would allow him more time to spend with Ava.

"Hey Pete, when do you want to hang out again?" Ava asked.

"I'm not sure," he answered. "Maybe tomorrow. Either as Spider-Man and White Tiger, or just as two normal people. We don't know what's coming tomorrow, unfortunately, but we do know we'll see each other quite soon." He smiled to himself, but he wished that she could see him smiling. He wanted to see her smiling, as well.

"Well, I think I'll be going now, Peter," came her voice after a small silence. "I'm really tired and need sleep. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Love you."

"Love you too."

On the other end, the phone hung up. Peter wished their talk could have been longer, but he understood what it was like to be tired. He was severely tired himself, and knew he needed sleep. But for some reason, he didn't feel like he wanted to sleep. He felt like he wanted to stay up a little while longer. There were too many thoughts going through his mind, and he couldn't get them all out. It was annoying.

_The man's throat was slit. There was no sign of forced entry. Truthfully, there was no sign of entry at all. There was no sign of an altercation. That's a big surprise, because most villains love to leave their mark. This villain is a lot different, it seems. They must be really good. Either that, or…oh, this is too hard! I can't think of anything right now. I need to sleep. If Ava is going to sleep right now, then I really need to. But something is holding me back. _Suddenly Peter's mind went to Harry Osborn. He wondered what was going on with his best friend since the arrest of his father. He hoped he wasn't planning any revenge on he and White Tiger. He didn't believe Harry could ever do such a thing, but he knew it was best to be careful. _Harry probably doesn't mean any harm. I can't blame him if he wants revenge, but it's just that he doesn't understand. I wish he could possibly understand somehow. But now Norman is behind bars, and Harry will possibly never see him again. At least, that's probably what Fury's done. Fury does so much that hurts so many other people that it makes me angry, but sometimes I can't even blame him! What the heck is going on in this world? It's all just so weird. Nothing ever really makes sense, no matter how much I want it to. Life should make sense, but I guess I don't have that much luck._

Another sigh. It seemed that was all he could do at that moment. His world was spinning around him, and he guessed it had to do with his lack of sleep. He finally went over his bed and lay down. But his thoughts would not stop circulating, however.

But he wouldn't allow that to stop him from sleeping. He closed his eyes and began to rest, but he could not drift right off to sleep. Peter sighed one last time. It was the most annoying thing when he could not sleep. But just as he thought he would be unable to sleep, he drifted off, his last thought being of Ava.

Outside somewere, there was someone watching him. But that same person was also watching Ava. That was part of his power. He didn't have as much power as he wished, but soon enough it would come, he was sure.

Nightmare kept his evil red eyes stuck on Peter and Ava, knowing the time was right for him to strike. He would do it soon, and no one would stop him. Not Spider-Man, not White Tiger, and not Doctor Strange. He knew that for sure. He smiled demonically, and then suddenly he was no longer there.


	5. School Daze

**Chapter Four: School Daze**

Despite Peter not wanting break to end, it did, much to his chagrin. And when he stumbled in that very early morning at 7 AM, he could not believe how blurred his vision was. And it wasn't because he needed glasses. It was because of how tired he was. He knew nobody could really blame him. Not even Ava could blame him anymore, something that had brought them even closer together.

As soon as Peter walked into the cafeteria, he saw Ava. He hurried over to her, but was stopped by Sam, who was known as the superhero Nova. Peter sighed as Sam started speaking. Peter didn't even know what the heck he was speaking about, to be honest, but he just decided to push past Sam and continue toward Ava. Disregarding Sam, who said, "What the heck are you doing?", Peter finally reached Ava and held her hand. She smiled at him, and he smiled at her.

Not far from them, Peter could see his friend Mary Jane Watson. She had her nose buried in a book and had not noticed them, but Peter decided he was going to greet her, bringing Ava along with him. Ava didn't know what Peter was going to say to Mary Jane, but she knew that he'd once had a crush on her. She knew it was a little different for him to say anything to Mary Jane now that she, Ava, was his girlfriend. But she edged him on, knowing he needed to get past that strange feeling. Though she wasn't sure, she believed it was only natural for him. And she was fine with that.

"Hi, Mary Jane," greeted Peter. Mary Jane heard his voice and looked up.

"Oh, hi, Peter!" she greeted happily. "It's good to see you! And you too, Ava. How're things going between you two?"

"Not bad," Ava replied. "You know, just trying to get past high school. It's hard, but you need to try. At least, that's what I believe."

"Well, high school gets that way," Mary Jane said. "I believe that as long as you keep your head up and keep believing in what your dreams are, none of this will take long."

Peter nodded slowly, feeling butterflies in his stomach. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to continue in the conversation. He looked over to Ava, who just shrugged.

"Well, I think we're going over there," Peter said, and then began walking away.

Ava looked at Mary Jane, smiled, and shrugged. "You know how Peter is," she said. "He's strange. I think it's hard sometimes for him to be around others."

"Is he that shy?" Mary Jane asked. "I never thought Peter would be that shy. Normally, he's one of the most social guys there are. At least, that's how he is now. Back in the day, he was definitely one of the shiest people. But things have changed, and it so it's strange to see him that way anymore."

"Yeah, it's weird," Ava agreed, though she knew the truth behind Peter being shy around Mary Jane. "Well, I guess I'd better go and see him before he gets into trouble with someone."

Ava quickly walked away, leaving Mary Jane to feel strange. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel around Peter and Ava anymore. It was too strange of a world.

When Ava found Peter again, he was outside the cafeteria, at his locker.

"What's going on?" Ava asked him with a little concern.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"I know you felt strange around Mary Jane, but it seems something else is bothering you," Ava explained. "You would normally stay in there with us, but you decided to come out here instead. What's bothering you right now, Peter?"

Peter sighed. "It has to do with Harry," he answered. "He would be here right now. I know that. Since he's not, that can only mean one thing: he's still blaming us for Norman going into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Something's going on with him, and I want to stop all this anger before it goes overboard."

Ava patted his arm, and then said, "I understand. You're trying to help him. But you need to be careful. You don't know how dangerous Harry can become. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but it's true. If we're not careful, he could become dangerous."

Peter looked at her with a strange expression. "You really think Harry could become dangerous?" he asked. "You think he could become one of our adversaries? Ava, he's only angry, he's not murderous. You know that, and I know that."

"I'm only telling you the possibility," Ava continued. "You can never be too sure."

"This sounds like you're getting your information from Fury!" Peter told her with a slight edge in his voice. "You know how crazy S.H.I.E.L.D. is. I'm only still with them because they can make me more of a hero than I already am."

Ava looked at him with her deep hazel eyes and sighed. "My God," she said. "That's all you're thinking about? Peter, if that's all you think S.H.I.E.L.D. will do for you, then you have too much pride in your life. You need to set your priorities right now. Your pride is getting in the way of our relationship. I can see that right now."

Peter thought about what she was saying for a moment, and then realized she was right.

"God, I'm such an idiot," he said. "Ava, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of that. You're right. I have too much pride."

Ava placed her right hand on his left shoulder and smiled. "It's okay, Pete," she assured him. "I'm not angry at you. There's a lot going on right now, I know that, and we just need to keep looking at the bright side. Something good will come out of this if we just wait and see. Do you understand me?"

Peter nodded.

The bell rang, and Ava readjusted the strap of her backpack. "I've gotta go," she said. "See you later." Then she walked off, and Peter just watched as she did so. He knew she was right, and knew that it was best he just went on with his day. He didn't want to continue being the way he had been anymore.

The rest of the day was slow, and there were many times in which Peter wished he could get out of there already and go back to being a superhero, but he knew it was best for him to keep doing good in school so his Aunt May didn't fret about him.

Many things ran through his mind, and most of them had to do with either Harry or Ava. But another idea was in his mind: the death of the priest.

What had really happened to the priest? What had been able to kill him? It was very strange, he believed. He would be going to S.H.I.E.L.D. soon enough, to see what more they knew on the subject.

Nick would most likely not tell him worth a darn, but Peter didn't care. He was going to keep asking until he got his information on what was happening.

_There are a couple other people I could ask, possibly. There's Iron Man, there's Captain America…I could ask Doctor Strange…No, there's no need to call for him. There's nothing evil around here. It was probably just someone like Doc Ock. He loves screwing everything in this world up. It most certainly wouldn't surprise me._

Close to thirty minutes later, Peter was nearly done walking home. He hadn't even realized he'd walked all the way home until just now. He knew he could've swung all the way over, but his mind had been too preoccupied with all his thoughts. He looked in front of him and saw his driveway. He walked up to the top, and then went to the porch.

He thought for a moment there was a small amount of pain in his head, and then he was certain. But he shook it off, knowing it could just be the school daze.

He entered the house, and took off his backpack, setting it down on the couch. He rubbed his eyes, unable to believe how tired he was.

Suddenly he found himself in a strange, smoky world. There was nothing around him but the smoke, and he wasn't sure where he was.

He attempted to speak, but there was not a sound that came out of his mouth.

_"You cannot speak here," _said a voice. _"I am letting you know now that there is an evil in the world. You are the only one who can stop it. Now go."_

Peter shouted out loud and opened his eyes. He realized it was nighttime. He was still in his living room. Where was Aunt May?

He got up and went to the kitchen, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge. However, he overlooked one little thing. If anyone could call it little.

"Hello Peter." Peter whirled around and saw Nick Fury standing there. "We need to talk."


	6. Harry's Anger

**Chapter Five: Harry's Anger**

Harry Osborn sat in his penthouse, thinking of what he could do to succeed in his plans. His father was in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, all thanks to Spider-Man. He blamed Spider-Man and White Tiger for imprisoning Norman Osborn, because he believed his father was a good man. While he had overlooked Harry for much of his young life, he still believed his father had some good with him. But he didn't know anything for sure. It was all insane. But Harry knew one thing: he would get his revenge on Spider-Man and White Tiger, even if it was the last thing he ever did. He promised himself that much. And he knew everything would go his way.

Inside the penthouse, it was all quiet. Not even his servant Bernard had bothered him when he arrived from school. It was surprising, in his opinion. But he felt it was deserved, as well. He needed to feel good for once. Recently he'd felt different, and he could tell it was affecting his personal life. Even his friendship with his best friend in the world, Peter Parker, was beginning to suffer, something he didn't want to happen. He loved Peter as if he was his brother. He'd actually nearly had a little brother before his mother had died in a plane crash. He was saddened by that fact. But at least he had Peter, something that cheered him up.

_I've got to find some way to reconnect with him, _Harry thought. _I need to know what I can do to repair our brotherly relationship. He knows what it's like to not have a mother or a father, at least. That's one thing I know he can understand. He might not understand everything else, but that's beside the point. The only problem with repairing our relationship is the fact that he believes Spider-Man is good for this city, while I do not. I must convince him that he is wrong. I must let him know he is wrong. But how can I do that? His faith in Spider-Man seems so deeply rooted. But I'm sure I can rip it from the ground and throw it into a furnace. No one I love should have faith in Spider-Man, and that's what leads to me trust in whatever J. Jonah Jameson says: Spider-Man truly is a menace, as is his little muse. Ah, White Tiger. She seems so good-looking, but there's no chance of me getting into a relationship with her. I don't know her real name, and I'm sure she would never reveal it to me. So that means I have no other option than to stop others from believing in her. There's no other option. Everything will work in my favor, and no one will stop me from this._

He heard footsteps behind him, and he turned to see his butler Bernard standing there, all dressed in his fancy garb. He wasn't sure what the man wanted. He liked him, but he held some disdain for him, as well. It was only natural, Harry believed.

"There is a guest who would like to see you, Master Harry," Bernard said. "He says his name is Peter Parker. Should I let him in?"

"Yes, Bernard," Harry answered. "And you've seen Peter before. You should have let Peter in as soon as you saw him. If you wouldn't mind, it's better if we have some food out here for the guest. Do you mind at all, Bernard?" Harry stared at his butler sharply.

"No, sir, I do not," Bernard said, and left. He was on his way to let Peter in, and then to go to the kitchen for food.

Peter entered the room, and Harry ran to him. "Peter!" he said. "It's great to see you! How are you doing? Are you hungry at all? My butler is coming with food, if you want any."

"Yeah, Harry, sure," Peter said. "I just came over to talk with you. I thought you might want to talk, since we haven't gotten to do that as much as school as we used to. I just wanted to know how everything's going with you. I've missed you, pal. How's life been treating you?"

"It's been treating me fine," Harry said. He looked his best friend over, and he thought Peter was a little small. Not as strong as he wanted him to be, but he didn't care completely. "So, look, I wanted to talk to you about something. You've heard my father was arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D., right?" Peter nodded. "Well, here's the thing. I need to get revenge on Spider-Man and White Tiger for all they've done to me!"

Peter seemed quite surprised. When Harry saw the expression upon Peter's face, he became surprised himself. He would have thought Peter would be on-board with him. But now it seemed he was wrong. But he kept his cool and decided to continue on with his proposition. Maybe he still had the chance to get his best friend to his side.

"Peter, you have to understand, Spider-Man is a disgrace to society! We can't keep believing him to be the savior of New York! If you want saviors for New York, just call The Avengers! They're Earth's Mightiest Heroes, after all! You have to understand there's a lot going on here, and if we don't do something about the other vigilantes who live in this city and call it home, we might as well call New York City good-bye!"

"Spider-Man is no disgrace!" Peter exclaimed. Then he calmed his voice down some. He didn't want to seem completely on Spider-Man's side, as that meant he would possibly give Harry clues as to who Spider-Man's true identity was. He wasn't going to allow that, however. He would _never_ allow such a thing to happen. But right now, he had to stand up for his alter-ego. If Harry was going this crazy over something that had needed to happen, then it meant he would be taking it out on everyone else. Ava needed to be stood up for, as well, as Harry was bombarding her with accusations, as well!

"Peter, please understand, I'm doing this for you! I'm doing this to save you and the rest of New York from an unimaginable fate! I'm not trying to hurt you or anything, but when it comes to this situation, I would have thought you'd be on my side! Please understand this, Pete! Please!"

But Peter couldn't understand. In his mind, he was thinking of all that was going on. His best friend was attempting to make him turn on himself and his girlfriend, something that would not happen as long as he lived. "Harry, I'm sorry, I can't accept anything you're trying to tell me," he finally said. "I'm still a fan of Spider-Man! I'm not trying to turn on you or anything, however. It's just the way I feel, if you know what I mean. I have other opinions, and so do you. We all have different opinions."

"Yeah, but yours are so clouded! You need to open your mind to the possibility that Spider-Man and White Tiger are dangers to us all! They're the reason my father is in freaking SHIELD custody! I'm not going to allow this to go on any longer! I have to do something! I should go ahead and break him out for all I care. He can help me more with all that's happening. He can help me to understand this world around us."

Peter wasn't sure what he was supposed to think. Norman Osborn had been evil. SHIELD had proven that enough times, most certainly. They'd gone through all his files and discovered plans for warfare that could obliterate an entire country! At least, one the size of Latveria, they'd noticed. But that meant New York could have been in serious danger. So he couldn't trust Harry on what he was saying. He had to disagree with him. For the time-being, until Harry got his head on straight and understood the truth.

"Harry, I'm sorry, I can't agree with this," Peter finally told him. I have to leave. I have to go see if Aunt May needs my help with something. There's a lot going on. I will be sure to think this through, however. Though I don't agree with this now, who knows? I might agree with this later. But for now, I have to think. I'm sorry, Harry."

"It's okay, Peter," said Harry. "I know I shouldn't have jumped down your throat with this crap. I should have just waited. Goes to show, I'm the best friend in the world. Go ahead and hurry home. I'll see you in school."

Peter nodded, got up, and began to leave, but then Harry called him back.

"By the way, how's Ava?"

"What?"

"Ava. You know, the girl you've been in love with since a few months ago. How are things going with her?"

"Good," Peter replied. "You know, there've been problems, but that's relationships for you, if you know what I mean."

Harry nodded. "I've been meaning to ask Mary Jane out soon," he said. "It wouldn't be a bad idea, if you ask me. I love her, and she seems to already have an interest in me, so…"

"Yeah, I get it," Peter said. "Look, Harry I've got to go. I'll see you later!"

Peter ran off, opening and closing the door behind him. Harry began seething with rage.

"Master Harry?" came Bernard's voice from behind. "Would you still like your food?"

"Just put it on the table, Bernard," Harry said. "I'll eat it later. But for right now, I need to think."

* * *

Spider-Man swung into an alley. He looked around, and then found Nick Fury standing there, staring at him with his one good eye.

"Nice to see you again," he said. "How're things going with your best friend?"

"Not good," Peter said. "He's trying to get me to turn on…myself."

"Well, that's not good," Fury said. "Look, Peter, you need to listen to me. There's a lot going on in this city at the moment. From that priest being killed in his own church to your best friend thinking of ways to hurt you…and then there's his father. One of the agents said he was planning something in his cell. He then threatened to kill one of the agents with a butter knife. We've made sure he can't kill himself with the knife, though. If he ever tries, the shock collar paralyzes him for a moment, and he'll drop the knife and remain paralyzed long enough for another agent to come and pick it up. Already stopped an attempted suicide…three times."

"Three? Jesus," Spider-Man said. "Norman Osborn…I still can't believe he was behind hiring Taskmaster and the kidnapping of White Tiger. But it's over for now, I guess. But now his son hates me! And he loves me, too! This is getting real confusing, if you know what I mean!"

"I understand. But you have to deal with all this for the time-being. We've been looking into the priest's death, and we found something: traces of sulfur. That leads us to believe something evil was behind the attack. We're not sure what it was, but I've called in an old friend to help out. I believe you've met Doctor Strange before?"

Doctor Strange appeared from the shadows behind Nick Fury. He was smiling. "Hello, Spider-Man," he greeted. "It has been a while, I must say. The last I saw you, we fought Nightmare together. And now we shall fight the filthy demon again."

"Again?" asked Spider-Man.

"Yes," Strange replied. "I've sensed him. He's somewhere around here, hiding out. He's more powerful than before, unfortunately, but we'll find him again and defeat him hopefully."

Spider-Man sighed. "Well, is it all right if I go and sleep for now?" he asked. "I need a break. I know I'm a crimefighter and all, but I don't really want to be up at the moment, not after what happened today, if you know what I mean."

"You can go home," Fury said. "We'll talk later, Peter. You need to understand I will be watching you for the time being, however."

Spider-Man nodded. He then shot a web at one of the buildings and began swinging home. He planned to call Ava soon. But there were many more things on his mind, as well, such as the presence of Nightmare in the city. He couldn't believe it.

As soon as he arrived home, he jumped into his bedroom after opening the window. After changing, he lay down on his bed and began to doze off. As he fell asleep, his last thought was of Ava.

* * *

"Sleep," Nightmare said, watching Peter through his window. "I will end you soon. But for now, you must sleep. Our battle will come soon. I might take you as my next host. But for now, I must find my target. She is around here somewhere, and I can sense her now. She is mine."


	7. That Night

**Chapter Six: That Night**

Ava lay on her bed, thinking. She wondered when she would be able to see Peter again. That was all she was able to think about at the moment, for some reason. She didn't know why. Thinking of him made her feel at peace with herself, something no one else had ever done. At the moment, her thoughts were all on him.

_Peter's probably asleep right now, and I don't want to bother him, _she thought. _He doesn't need to be bothered or woken up by me. I love him, but that doesn't mean I have to call him every night or anything. Even if he was awake, there's probably a lot going on in his mind right now, and because of that, I don't wish to bother him._

But the thought of calling him remained in her mind. Nothing more mattered to her at that moment than seeing him again. She thought about that for a moment, and wondered if she was being a little paranoid. But she put that thought behind her and continued on thinking.

But then she heard a beeping sound, and she realized it was her phone. She picked it up and accepted the call. It was Mary Jane.

"Hello?" came Mary Jane's voice.

"Hey, Mary Jane," greeted Ava. "What's going on? It's really late."

"I know, I'm sorry," Mary Jane told her. "I just need someone to talk to. You're one of my best friends, and I know Peter most likely isn't someone to talk to right now. Who knows what he's up to at the moment, you know? He's always so tired when he enters school in the morning. More so than anyone should be."

"I know what you mean," Ava said. "I have that feeling sometimes, too. There are times when I feel like a cat. I'm nocturnal, it seems, and so I stay up all night, but I can't keep awake during the day. It's just the way everything is, I guess, you know?"

"Yeah," Mary Jane said. "But anyway, I have to ask you something. I have this feeling in me, and I don't know if you would be able to help me to understand what it might mean."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are times where I feel like I want someone to spend my life with. I haven't had a boyfriend in a long time, you see. There are many guys who hit on me, but it doesn't always work out, because most of them are either jerks or they're just…not my type, you know?"

"I understand. So who is this mystery guy?" There was a moment of silence on the other line. "Come on, Mary Jane. Come clean. There's no point in hanging up now, because you began this call to talk to me, and now you have to finish it. At least, that's how I think of things usually. I usually get all this information from TV, though."

She heard Mary Jane laugh a little on the other line. "Well, this guy has kind of been reclusive for a while. I have feelings for him, and I'm sure he has feelings for me sometimes, but I'm not sure what to think of him at times." There was another moment of silence on the other line. "To be honest, I think I have feelings for Harry Osborn."

Ava's dark brown eyes widened. She would have never thought Harry would be a choice for Mary Jane, especially after how he'd acted towards she and Peter. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to Mary Jane. Her mind was cluttered for the moment.

"Ava?" came Mary Jane's voice. "Are you there? What do you think? What should I do next?"

"Um…I'm not sure," Ava admitted. "Harry? Are you sure, Mary Jane? No offense, but he doesn't seem like someone you would fall in love with. Once again, no offense, but I'm just giving my opinion on the subject."

"Yeah, I know, it's hard to think of me being with Harry, I know," Mary Jane said. "But I feel as if I have feelings for him. You've felt this kind of a feeling before, I'm sure, because you have Peter in your life now, right? I would think you'd understand."

"I do understand, somewhat," Ava said. "It's just…I'm not the best person to ask about this. I know I've felt the same way with Peter, but the only problem is, I don't know how to give anyone else advice. That, and I'm really tired at the moment. I'm sorry, Mary Jane. I wish I could be of more help, but I'm exhausted, and—"

"I understand." Mary Jane became silent for a few seconds. "Well, thanks anyway, Ava. I'm glad you can help. I'll let you get some sleep. Goodnight."

"'Night," said Ava.

On the other line, Mary Jane hung up, and Ava placed her face in her right palm. She couldn't believe it. Mary Jane was in love with Harry Osborn, of all people! She didn't know if it was the fact that his father had allowed Taskmaster to kidnap her, or if it was just the way he'd acted towards she and Peter, but she believed that Harry was the worst choice for Mary Jane. She remembered that Peter had once told her that he'd had a crush on Mary Jane, as well. She believed that if she hadn't become his girlfriend, Mary Jane might have chosen him. She wondered if she was responsible for Mary Jane's horrible choice.

The door to her room opened, and Nick Fury stood there in the doorway. On his face was a stern expression. By now, Ava was used to such an expression from him.

"What do you want?" she asked, the words coming out in a more brisk way than she'd meant.

"I want you to go on a mission for me," he said. At her surprised expression, he explained himself. "I was going to ask the others, but each one of them is fast asleep, and Spider-Man's not here, so that means you're the closest I have to someone I can ask."

"I don't think I should go down there," Ava told him, her anger rising. She remembered that he was still watching her. She'd thought once she could trust him, but that was before she'd caught him watching her during her date with Peter at The Shack. "Don't forget, I'm not in the best mood with you, Nick."

"I know," he said cooly. "But I need you for this. It shouldn't take you very long, Ava. Please."

Ava had never heard Fury use such a word before, and her eyes widened. She'd never thought him to be someone with manners. She thought about her choices for the moment, and finally decided there was no point in either arguing with him or telling him she wouldn't do it.

"Fine," she said. "But if I do this for you, then you have to promise me, you won't watch Peter and I on any of our other dates. Got that? I'm still really angry at you for that."

"I was only trying to make sure something more wasn't going on, is all," he said.

Ava didn't even care what he was saying afterward. She said, "Please leave, so I can put the costume on."

He did so, and she hurried up with the taking-off of her clothes and putting-on of her White Tiger costume. She felt good in the suit made of matte milliskin, almost thinking of it as a second skin. She clipped her emerald tiger amulet onto her belt. She remembered the lie she'd given Norman Osborn about where it came from. She said she'd stolen it from a museum, when in truth, her father had given it to her just as he died from his mortal wound inflicted upon him by Sergei Kravinoff, AKA Kraven the Hunter. She'd avenged her father by defeating Kraven that time he'd returned.

Ava slowly walked out of the room, down the hall, and into the entrance/exit room of the Tricarrier. Fury was there, watching her. Ava felt uncomfortable around him, especially with the fact the man only possessed one eye, because with that one eye, she was the only thing in its view.

"There was an explosion near The Shack, about a mile from where the priest's body was found," Fury explained. "I want you to go there and see what's going on. Spider-Man should be the one doing this, so blame him for deciding to not answer his communicator. Now go. The Tricarrier will teleport you down there. Report back as soon as you find something of interest."

Ava nodded, and she heard the whirring of the teleporter. Blue light illuminated her, and she closed her eyes. When the sound was gone, she opened them again to find herself in part of the town. She found herself in front of The Shack, which was closed for the night.

She hurried behind the building and climbed up the fire escape to the top. She was hoping she could get a better view of all that was happening from here. Now she saw plumes of smoke from across the rooftops. She removed the grapple hook from her utility belt and threw it across to another rooftop. It stuck itself into a bit of soft concrete, allowing her to swing to the rooftop. The claws in her gloves helped to climb, as well, but she didn't want to use them until later.

When she reached the rooftop, Ava ran across it and jumped to another, then found herself looking down at the scene. It was in the courtyard of a small business. In the middle of everything was the villain known as Electro. He laughed as he shocked someone, hitting them in the right leg with a bolt of electricity. Ava looked down upon that, and she jumped from the top of the building, landing on the ground softly.

"Stop right there, Electro!" she shouted. "This isn't going to go well for you!"

Electro turned around and sneered, "Really, White Tiger? Because I think I'm going to do quite well tonight. All I gotta do is kill a few people, and I'll be on my way. So don't get in it."

White Tiger thought something seemed different about the supervillain. It was something she couldn't put her finger on. But that wasn't going to stop her. She ran at Electro, who shot bolts of electricity at her. She dodged them, found a piece of concrete broken off from a pillar that had cracked and threw it at Electro, who didn't see it coming.

He was hit in the head, and he yelled in pain. He was not bleeding from a wound on his head, which she was sure would've happened to another villain if she'd done the same. Butt then something clicked for her. She realized he couldn't bleed, because of the accident that had given him his abilities replacing his blood with electricity, and because blood contained water.

Water.

How had she forgotten such a thing?

Looking around, she saw a fire hydrant and ran toward it. But she realized it was a stupid thing to do. She was hit by a blast of electricity, and she fell to the ground, writhing. She groaned and got on her back. She saw Electro walk over her, and she screamed in pain as he hit her with a powerful blast. Looking over, she saw her hand was right on the fire hydrant. She outstretched her claws and swept them through the metal of the fire hydrant.

Electro had been laughing at her moments before, but his laughs became screams as the electricity he was made of crackled and short out. He fell to the ground, fried for the moment. Ava heard police sirens, and she wondered when they would arrive. She was tired all of a sudden. She looked to Electro and saw he was coming to, and he pulsed. The electricity shocked her hard, and she felt her heart pumping hard. She gasped in pain, then screamed.

Her vision flickered, and all went black.

But slowly she began to come to, and she realized she was somewhere other than the street. She wondered where she could be, but her mind was not working straight.

And then she heard a horrible voice.

"You are not along, little one," it said. It was deep and distorted, but somehow Ava felt she'd heard it before, but she was unsure where. "You have reached the moment where you have proven yourself a worthy—"

"Who the heck are you?!" exclaimed Ava. "How dare you kidnap me? You had no right!"

"I may not have in this human world, but I am no human," the voice said. "I've seen you before. Your name is Ava Ayala. You are known as White Tiger, and once I trapped you in a dream world where you faced your worst fear: failing in life, whether it be in school or failing to save those you love. I can help you, but only if allow me to—"

"I wouldn't dare allow you to help me!" Ava exclaimed. "I'm fine on my own!"

"That's what I thought you might say, and that is understandable," the voice said. "But I am not so easily waned. You have only provoked me, and this will be harder for you. You may wonder what my name is, and I am here to tell you I go by many names. I have been around for many years, though I have lived in constant danger of those who hunt me, including this cursed family line! Their heir is somewhere around these parts, and I will find and kill him soon, but for the time-being, I will reveal to you who I am. I have been known as Phobetor, Ikelos, Icelos, and Icelus, but you shall know me as Nightmare. I am a Demon, and I have been fought before by Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, and the one you love, known as Spider-Man. He will be next."

"You monster!" Ava spat. She still couldn't see anything. "Why can't I see anything? Why is everything so dark?!"

"Because I turned off the lights," Nightmare growled. "And now, I reveal to you what shall happen. You shall become my vessel for the time-being, and you shall kill those you love."

Ava was finally able to open her eyes, and when she did so, she saw Nightmare there, standing with a torn and sleeveless gray shirt and breeches. His eyes were a bright yellow with cat-like slits for pupils. He smiled, and she saw all his teeth were fangs. In his hands were chains, and he pulled on them, bringing her closer to him.

Ava screamed as she felt hot, burning pain. She couldn't feel anything, however, after a while. The last words she heard were, "Sleep, my vessel. You shall awaken soon."

And then all went black once more.

Meanwhile, outside, Spider-Man arrived on the scene, having been alerted to the explosion, though he guessed he was too late for it all now. He saw Electro in the middle of the street, the police standing around him. The supervillain was being doused with water every few seconds.

"Good morning, officers," he greeted. "What's going on?"

"Spider-Man, you're late," said one of the officers. "One of your friends was already here. Nice-looking gal, too. She clawed a fire hydrant and doused this freak with water. I was standing in the crowd, so I saw the whole thing. But she got up and walked away after having been knocked down. Haven't seen her since, though I wanted to tell her I was grateful for all she'd done."

Spider-Man realized he was speaking of White Tiger, and he wondered where she'd gone off to. Maybe she'd gone back to the Tricarrier? He couldn't be for sure.

He walked near one of the buildings, and he suddenly felt a hand clasp around his right shoulder. He whirled around, expecting danger, only to find Ava standing there. She had her mask on still. She was groaning.

"Tiger?" he asked, not saying her real name just in case. "You okay? Did Electro hurt you?"

"I…I think so," she said. "I'm just really tired."

Peter nodded. "Trust me, I know what that feels like." He looked up at the sky, and he saw it was only just turning into dawn. Under his mask, he smiled, and he said, "You want to go back to my place? Aunt May won't be around at all today. She's hanging out with Mary Jane's aunt, so we'll be fine."

Ava finally nodded after a moment's hesitation. Peter frowned, then took her in his arms and spun a web. He swung off toward his home, hoping Ava was all right. He planned to call Nick Fury when he returned, and to have Doctor Strange possibly look over her, just in case.

As he swung away, Nightmare watched, crouching on a gargoyle. Now that the sun was coming up, he would have to leave and find somewhere to hide for the day until night came.

"That's right," he said. "Go for the moment, little one. You believe you're safe, but not even those you love will be able to protect you. Because you will kill them all."


	8. Interrogation

**Chapter Eight: Interrogation**

Peter sighed and rubbed his eyes. He'd returned not more than ten minutes ago from the scene, with Ava in his arms. She now lay on his bed behind him, still wearing the White Tiger costume. He wondered what had happened to her. Had Electro's pulse been the thing that caused her to become so…different? He definitely knew something was wrong with her. She wouldn't be acting this way, not with the amulet near her. It would have helped to heal her if she'd been injured. As she was still groaning, Spider-Man believed something had happened to her. Something that he could not explain. But he knew someone who possibly could help him. He just wondered if he had enough time to look Ava over, as he was probably busy, as well.

Picking up his communicator, he dialed in a number, and he heard the buzzing on the other side. A minute later, he heard someone pick up. He heard someone say, "Hello?"

"Nick, it's Spider-Man," Peter said. "Look, I'm here with Ava, and right now she's unconscious. I went over to look at a disturbance not far from the church where the priest was killed, and I found her, groaning as if she was in pain. She had been in a battle with Electro not long before, but if he'd injured her, the amulet most likely would have healed her by now, wouldn't it? I think something more is going on, but I'm unable to explain it. I think it's better if we call in Doctor Strange. He might be the only person who could help us understand exactly what's going on."

There was silence on the other line for at least a minute before Nick finally replied. "I agree," he said. "But there's something that needs to be done before we call him. Of course, we've already got him on the line, if you don't remember. We've known there's something much more going on around here in New York, something only he would be able to comprehend. So when we need him, he'll come. But once again, there's something more that needs to happen first, Spider-Man."

"What exactly is that?" Peter asked.

"Norman Osborn. We're planning to interrogate him today, and I was wondering if you and White Tiger might want to come along and help out with it all. We might need you guys to help persuade him into revealing pieces of information that could help us."

"All right. I'll see what's going on. But in the meantime, I'm not sure what to do. I'm not scared of Ava, I'm just scared of what might have been done to her. There's a lot to try and comprehend with all that's happening. The priest's death, Harry's hatred of me and her, and the supernatural forces that are surrounding us. Those supernatural forces are most likely behind the priest's death. I just hope they don't come anywhere near Ava, is all."

"Well, Peter," said Nick, "the best thing to do is trust your instincts. What are they telling you to do right now? They aren't telling you to run away from your girl, are they?"

"No, they're not. I have to stay by her side. I know that much. If I don't, then I don't know what will happen. I'll have to help her. There's something wrong with her, I'm sure of it, and I'm not going to be that boyfriend who sits there and allows the girl he loves to be consumed by something neither of them understand. It's just…faith isn't always on my side, if you know what I mean."

"Well, thank God for that, then. S.H.I.E.L.D. could definitely use more men like you. But for now, you need to remain there with her. Bring her on board later to interrogate Osborn. But for the time-being, don't let her out of your sites. Do you understand me, Peter? There's too much at risk, and I can't allow anything bad to happen!"

Peter nodded. "Don't worry, nothing will," he said. "I'm not going to allow anything bad to happen to her. I love her too much, as you already know."

"Yeah. And while I don't understand any of that crap as much as you, I have some idea as to what you're saying. So don't let her out of your sights, you got that?"

The connection was hung up before Peter could say anything more, and he just sighed, wishing he could comprehend more of what was happening at that moment. He was so tired, and he wanted to sleep so badly. He turned around, and saw that Ava was fast asleep. He wanted to join her, but he decided against that. He wondered what had been done to her. Had she been tortured or something of that sort? He hoped not, but he couldn't be truly sure.

_If only there was some way I could understand this world,_ Peter thought. _I mean, everything's gone topsy-turvy! Sure, as a kid, I believed in magic, but not this kind of magic. Now, I know it's real. I know it's around. But it scares me, nonetheless. I don't know what to do with all this information. Some of it even scares me. And that's saying something!_

He heard Ava stirring behind him. He walked over to her and took off her mask so he could see her face. Her brown eyes stared up at him, and she smiled. She suddenly gasped as if she'd just felt a lot of pain, and Peter was a little alarmed by this.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I think so," she replied. "I don't know what happened, I just feel like I was beaten a little. It's not the most pleasant feeling, I'll tell you that. But I'm not sure what truly happened. It's all a blur." She sighed. "Why are we in your room right now?"

"It was the best place to go," he answered. "I'm sorry, I didn't know anywhere else. I decided the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier wasn't the best idea. I just got a call from Nick, however, and I thought you might like to know what he said to me."

"What'd he say?" Ava asked.

"He's planning to interrogate Norman Osborn," Peter answered, and at this, Ava's eyes widened. "It's crazy, I know, but I'm telling you the truth right now. I can't believe it."

"So they'll just interrogate him?"

"Yeah, and Nick wants us to get up there and help him with it all. I don't know if we should or not. I'm a little apprehensive, because I don't want you to get hurt, is all. Norman is a very sharp man, he knows how to get under your skin, and I would rather him not do it to you."

"Why not?" Ava asked. "It's not like his words are going to force me to kill him or anything like that."

Peter was surprised by her words. He almost became a little scared. She'd just mentioned killing Norman Osborn, something he didn't want to happen, most certainly. Though she'd said it in a different way, he could definitely tell there was something going on with her. He wished he knew what it was.

"What's the matter?" Ava asked, seeing the expression upon his face. "Don't worry, I didn't mean that the way you're thinking. I didn't really say anything about killing him. Yes, I want to hurt him, but I do not want to kill him, you know that. I would be in a whole crapload of trouble if I even dared to utter those words on the Helicarrier."

Peter nodded. He swallowed, feeling his heart racing. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to think at the moment. He hoped she was just severely tired, and that there was nothing bad going on within her.

"So what time do you think we should leave?" he asked Ava, trying to break the tension.

"Not sure," she replied. "That's up to you, if you ask me."

Peter sighed again, wishing she'd given him some sort of an answer. But he shrugged it off, knowing there was no point in worrying about that as much as the other things that were stuck in his mind about what was happening around him. He still hoped nothing truly horrible had happened to her while she was out. He knew she'd been shocked by Electro, but that didn't mean she would be acting as strangely as she was at that very moment.

_I'll help her in any way that I possibly can,_ he thought.

Then she finally gave him her answer. "I think we should leave in about an hour," she said. "It'll give us enough time to eat, and we can talk a little more. Does that sound good to you?"

He nodded. "Let me go down and make sure Aunt May's not here. She might have gotten an early start on one of her exercise routines, and so that could take all day. So…" He looked down and realized he was wearing the Spider-Man costume. "I think I might also have to take this off." He looked to Ava, whose eyes were wide.

"Well, I might love you, but please do it somewhere I won't see," she said, laughing.

Peter smiled and laughed, as well. He slowly opened the door, and hurried into the bathroom, where he quickly undressed, and then wrapped himself in a towel after realizing he had no clothes with him in the bathroom. He muttered under his breath, thinking, _Thank God none of the other trainees are here. If they were still staying at my house, Sam would probably make fun of me as I did this. Oh God, this is embarrassing._

He hurried down to the kitchen, hoping to pick up some clothes in the laundry room on the way back up. He suddenly ran into Aunt May, who was in her workout clothes. She stared at him with a strange expression. Peter's eyes widened, and he quickly came up with a cover story.

"Hey Aunt May," he awkwardly greeted. "Uh, sorry, I just took a shower, and a lot of my clothes are dirty, so I—"

"Oh, no problem, Peter," she said, smiling. "Well, I'm out for the day. I've got a group of friends waiting for me over at the gym, so I'll see you sometime tonight." She hummed a theme and ran out the front door.

Peter sighed as he made sure she was gone. _That was close,_ he thought.

Hurrying into the laundry room, he put on a pair of clothes, and then went into the cabinet to find food for Ava. He settled on a fudge Pop-Tart, and then ran back up the stairs into his room. "Here you go," he said, handing her the Pop-Tart. She took it happily and began devouring it.

"Why'd you put on those clothes?" she asked inquisitively. "You aren't planning to go to the interrogation dressed like that, are you? Because you could get in some trouble, Peter."

"Yeah, I'm going to go and change, just hold on a minute," he said, and then ran back into the bathroom. As she waited, Ava munched happily on the Pop-Tart, happy she was able to eat. Her mind flicked back to the torture she'd received, and she wondered if that had all been a hallucination, or if that had been a true feeling. If it had been a real feeling, then she hated it with all her heart. But looking over her costume, she saw no signs of damage or any bloodstains. If there had been any, then it would be obvious she'd been truly tortured.

Peter reentered the room with his costume on, and Ava finished the Pop-Tart. "Okay, you ready?" he asked. She nodded, and he opened his window. "Hopefully no one's looking…Okay, good, we're fine. Come on." She walked to him after putting on her mask. He hugged her close to him, and he spun a web, then swung off. They landed on top of a roof, and he used a web to close the window. "Now that we're done with that, let's go. Nick's probably waiting on us, don't you think?"

"Well, let's not keep old One-Eye waiting for long," she said, and they were off on their way.

Meanwhile, Nick Fury stood near the interrogation room, checking his watch and wondering where in the name of God those two trainees were. Though maybe at first, it wasn't like them to be late for things as important as this. He grit his teeth and thought, _I might just have to teach them a lesson._

He looked over his shoulder and saw the three other trainees. All three were looking around, wondering where Spider-Man and White Tiger were. Fury sighed, and he said out loud, "Did any of you talk to them before now?"

"No," Power Man replied. "All I remember hearing is that White Tiger brought down Electro. Spider-Man was also seen at the scene, so they're probably together. That's my best guess, Director Fury."

"Together, eh?" Nova joked. "Maybe they're getting a little serious…"

"Okay, we don't need that," Fury said. "Keep your mouth shut. I just got a message from one of my men saying they just arrived. Now we can finally interrogate Osborn. Hopefully nothing goes amiss during this whole process. We don't need anymore drama."

Soon enough, as Fury had said, Spider-Man and White Tiger arrived. White Tiger apologized to him, saying they'd been in the middle of something. Fury waved her down and began telling them what they were going to be doing: "We've got to interrogate Osborn. He's in that room right there. As you know, he was involved in your kidnapping, White Tiger, and we have to know exactly why that was. What was his motive behind it, why would he hire Taskmaster to do it…all those sorts of things, if you know what I mean. Do you understand me?" His lips lifted as he saw the trainees nod in accordance to what he'd spoken. "I don't want any of you to screw around during this time, all right? Any horseplay could result in punishment. So, if you all understand me, then let's get started. We have no time to waste. We already had to wait long enough for you two to arrive, and I'd rather not wait any longer. It could jeopardize this whole mission." Spider-Man and White Tiger looked to each other, feeling sorry for making him wait, as they'd not meant to do so.

Fury looked around and asked, "So, which two of you wish to interrogate Osborn?"

"Wait, only two of us will be doing it?" Spider-Man asked, somewhat bewildered. "Why not all four of us? Hey, Nova might be the immature one, but I promise he won't screw anything up."

"I don't want all four of you in the same room, because Osborn might attempt to turn you against yourselves," Fury explained. "He has a snake like a tongue, which I'm sure is how he was able to get many of those great business decisions to work right. So, only two of you will be going in. But I will only choose you two if you do not fight with each other. So that automatically means Spider-Man and Nova will not work together. Iron Fist and Spider-Man won't work either, nor will Spider-Man and Power Man. White Tiger and Nova, no. White Tiger and Iron Fist, maybe. White Tiger and Power Man, no. So that leaves the three of you." He was looking at Spider-Man, White Tiger, and Iron Fist. "But I can only choose two of you. And I choose…Spider-Man and White Tiger." Once he was finished with his decision, he added to the other three trainees, "And you three will be helping me observe the whole interrogation from inside the control room. Do you understand me?" He walked over to a door and held it open. "Come right through, the two of you. The three of you, following that path there—" he pointed a hallway leading into another room—"and wait for me." As they did so, Fury looked to Spider-Man and White Tiger, and he said, "Be careful. As I said before, he's like a snake. He'll attempt to turn you two against each other. I know you don't think it can happen, but he's already done it to a few of the more experienced agents. So I'm warning you right now. Doesn't mean it will happen, but it's best to keep an open mind."

Both of them nodded, knowing the danger that came with what they were about to face. But they were going to get through it, they knew, because they had each other. They were sure Osborn would be unable to drive a wedge between them. If he tried, he would easily be stopped.

There was another door when they entered the room, and they heard Fury say, "Wait a moment, and I'll unlock that door for you. You'll hear a click, and then a beep, and then you can enter. Just be careful, you two."

Then he was gone. Spider-Man and White Tiger looked over at one another. "Are you scared?" Spider-Man asked. Then he face-palmed. "Nevermind. Of course you're scared. What a stupid thing of me to ask. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to—" But she silenced him, and he wondered what she was about to tell him.

"I am scared, I'll admit, but all that matters right now is that we stay together." She was about to say something more, but was suddenly cut off by the sound of the click, and then the beep. Spider-Man opened the door, and in his mind, he thought, _Here we go._

When they entered, they found themselves facing the man who was behind the kidnapping of White Tiger, as well as the father of Peter's best friend—if he could even call him that. Norman Osborn looked quite disheveled, with his red hair having become long and his eyes sunken deep into his now-sallow skin. He smiled darkly at them, his teeth bared, and they were yellow. It looked as if he'd become much thinner. If they'd attempted to feed him, he'd obviously stopped them from doing so. He wore what looked to be a prison jumpsuit colored silver. The top of his bare chest could be seen, which was very hairy, and though the jumpsuit was long-sleeved, his bare wrists could be seen. It looked as if he'd slit them, judging from the white bandages around both wrists with red splotches seen on both.

"Well, well, well," Norman said. "How great to see the two of you again. I thought I might be alone for an even longer time. But now I have guests. The only thing is…I hate unexpected guests. So what are you doing here, may I ask? Come to tell me something about my son? Maybe he finally came to his senses that he won't amount to anything and killed himself."

Spider-Man calmed himself, hoping his anger wouldn't come already. He had to make sure none of Osborn's words got to him, because if they did, then this whole interrogation would fail.

"We have questions for you, Mr. Osborn," he said. "We want to ask them to you, if you don't mind."

"Is that so?" asked Norman. "Well, then, isn't that nice? You know, I've done many things to get out of this hellish environment. This place is no more than a hellhole, and all my attempts to free myself of the chains it has pulled around me have failed. I've bitten my tongue, slit my wrists, swallowed things I shouldn't have…it's all failed, thanks to the never ending watch of the director. Fury sent you in here, I'm sure. You work for him, don't you? Oh dear, what a horrible decision you've made…you need to see that Fury is no more than a snake. He is a deceiving little b—"

"Funny," interrupted White Tiger. "He, as well as we, could say the same of you. And I'm saying that because of what you did to me that one time. Remember that visit you paid while I was imprisoned in Taskmaster's—and I guess yours, too—underwater lab. We want to know why you wanted to take us out. You mentioned something of that sort while you were down there. Unless I was drugged and my ears deceived me, then you sounded as if you wanted to get rid of us. Is that true, Mr. Osborn?"

"Of course I wanted you all to be destroyed," he replied. "Originally, I wouldn't have said such things in the presence of such…authority, if that is what I could call it…but no one really gives a crap anymore, now do they? So my reasoning behind that is the fact I don't believe you're going to save this city, or the world, if the latter is what you wish for later on in your pointless lives. If I hadn't been arrested, I could have made suits of armor that could have saved the world, that could have stopped terrorism. I could have made a whole group of supersoldiers that would have been even better than the screw-up known as Captain America." As he heard this, Spider-Man and White Tiger felt their anger levels rising. They'd met Captain America before, and he was one of the greatest men they'd ever known. Osborn didn't have the right to say such things about him. "Everything could have been better. But that chance was crushed by your supreme stupidity. Thank you." He smiled mockingly at the two heroes.

"You hurt your chances on your own," Spider-Man said. "It's because of the choice you made to take White Tiger!"

"You didn't let me finish, so shut up and allow me to talk, will you, boy?" spat Osborn. He cleared his throat, and sat back, as he had nearly gotten out of his chair in anger. What sounded like a growl emanated from within his throat. But then he was silenced by a look from White Tiger, one that scared him. Though he could not see her face, the way she stared at him scared him horribly. But then he regained his composure. "Well, now that I think of it, why in the name of God does it matter? You probably wouldn't listen to me."

"We might, if you allow us to talk more to you," White Tiger said. Her voice was becoming deeper, Spider-Man noticed. But he pushed it off as the anger she was feeling towards Osborn. "Why did you hire Taskmaster? Who else have you hired? Tell us now, and we won't kill you."

"Oh, like you _would_," Osborn tempted. He laughed mockingly at her, only to be silenced…

…as she flexed her claws, and they lit up with green electricity. Spider-Man knew this was dangerous, as when those claws were powered, they could cut through steel.

She slammed her hand down, and her claws went right through the table, which was made of iron. Norman Osborn's eyes widened, and he looked to her with great fear. He knew she was capable of killing him. He now knew she wouldn't resist the urge. But he didn't dare use that to his advantage, because he was too scared to do so.

"You deserve death, Osborn," White Tiger said softly, yet dangerously. "You've crossed many forbidden lines to get to where you once were with Oscorp. But then you crossed the most dangerous line of all…kidnapping me was the worst mistake you could've ever made. I'm surely no damsel-in-distress, and you attempted to make me look like one. But that will never happen ever again. Do you understand me?"

Norman slowly nodded, not sure what exactly he was supposed to say to her. His fear was too great.

"So now, tell me, who else have you hired, and where exactly are they now?" she asked.

Osborn found some courage within himself and answered, "I won't tell you."

And this took White Tiger over the edge.

She took him in her hands, took him off his feet, and slammed his face into the one-way looking glass. The slam was forceful enough to crack the glass. As a result, Osborn was bleeding from a wound near his temple.

In the surveillance room, Fury was thinking, _What in the name of God are you doing, Ayala?_

"What's going on in there?" Power Man asked.

"I've got no freaking idea," Fury replied. "We need to get someone in there."

"I'll do it," Nova volunteered.

"No, let me!" Iron Fist insisted.

"No, it won't help," Fury said. The trainees looked at him with surprise. "We have to see what she's planning. For all we know, this might just cause Osborn to spill his guts."

Inside the interrogation room, White Tiger held Osborn by the neck, his feet dangling off the floor.

"_Who else have you hired?!_" she growled at him. But he remained silent. It irked her to the point where she put her claws to his throat. "TELL ME NOW, OR I WILL—"

"TIGER, STOP!" Spider-Man roared at her. "What the heck are you doing? You're going to freaking _kill _him? You can't do that! That's not how you were taught! You know that!"

"Shut up!" she snapped. "You don't know a darn thing about this! I'll finish him off, if I have to!"

"You'll have to get past me to do it," Spider-Man told her.

At this, White Tiger looked to him. She dropped Osborn, who gasped for breath as soon as he hit the ground. She walked to him and looked him in the face—or mask, rather. Then she stormed off, opening the door and exiting. She no longer cared about what was going on. She was going somewhere, and she wasn't sure where.

Spider-Man looked to Osborn with anger. Osborn said, "She's quite a pistol, isn't she?"

Spider-Man ignored this, though he wanted to say something back, and then ran out of the room. He looked around for White Tiger, but he could not locate her. He hurried to the surveillance room and exclaimed, "What in the name of God happened?"

"We don't know," replied Fury. "I'm having agents searching for her, but I haven't gotten anything back. She was quick, though."

Spider-Man sighed. "There's definitely something wrong with her. I'll track her down for her, if you wish. When I confront her, I'm going to make sure I find out what's gotten into her. I have a hunch, but I'm not sure if I'm correct. But I know one thing."

"What's that?" Fury asked.

"Call Doctor Strange."


	9. Tracking Her Down

**Chapter Eight: Tracking Her Down**

He hurried down the streets, hoping he could find her. There was something he needed to do first, however. Something was definitely wrong, and he knew it had to be something that had to do with Doctor Strange's range of expertise. Just before he had left, Fury had told him Doctor Strange was on his way, and that he would make sure the three of them met up somewhere later on.

_Come on, Ava, _he thought as he swung over the George Washington Bridge. _You've got to be somewhere around here. I just know it! But where could she be? Last I heard, she had just gotten off the Tricarrier. Does that mean she has extra power? I know she slammed Norman Osborn's face into that window, but it seems that it could have been done quite easily, in all honesty. She has the power of the amulet…_

His eyes widened. With the amulet, and the extra power he guessed she now possessed, she would be near-unstoppable. There was no other way she could have gotten off the Tricarrier without someone stopping her without a different kind of power than that of the amulet. Or maybe she could…

He wasn't sure!

All he knew was that he wanted Ava to be all right by the end of this ordeal. He couldn't think of what would happen to her if he didn't find her in time. What could be controlling her? He thought of all his enemies that could have possibly brainwashed her, but he couldn't think of a single one who could have pulled this off. Something more was going on, it seemed. Something supernatural, quite possibly. That was why he'd told Fury to call Doctor Strange, just in case that suspicion turned out to be true.

"Spider-Man!" came a voice in his ear. He realized he had his comm link on, and he began listening to it, as he recognized the voice as that of Nick Fury. "Spider-Man, where are you?"

"I'm just now entering Manhattan, and I'm still looking for White Tiger," Spider-Man replied. "I'm not sure where she's going. There's nowhere in New York where she has a connection, or anything of that sort, is there?"

"No, there's not," Fury said. "We're attempting to track her. There's a tracker on her suit, but it's not working. I think she might have short-circuited it somehow, but—"

"Wait, a tracker?" Spider-Man asked incredulously.

"Yes, a tracker," Fury said back sternly. "We placed a tracker on all of your suits to keep an eye on your activities and what exactly you are doing at the moment. Do you understand me?"

"What in the name of God were you thinking?" Spider-Man exclaimed. "You breached our sense of security without us even knowing it! That's not something you should ever do! It's not allowed in any way, and yet you decided to go ahead and do something we would have never wanted. What is wrong with you?"

"We were trying to keep you safe," Fury replied.

"From who? Our families? I understand when we're fighting to keep an eye on us with cameras all around the streets of New York, but to do so all the time is just…I can't even think of a word. It's just…_disgusting_. That might not be the right word, but it's the best thing I can say at the moment."

There was silence on the other end, and Spider-Man knew he'd made an impact.

"Fine," Fury said. "So maybe you're right. But it's not my fault I wan an eye kept on you delinquents. I understand that's not exactly what you are, but I can't think of another word at the moment. Look now, Parker, all I want is for you to find White Tiger before I lose my temper. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," said Peter, who then disconnected the comm link. He landed on a building and looked all around him. He suddenly heard the sounds of screams, and he looked for the source. Finding the right direction, he swung over there and found who he was looking for.

White Tiger stood over a group of people. Spider-Man smiled for a moment, and then remembered what was going on. Something was definitely wrong with her now. He was going to have to do something, or they would begin to distrust superheroes, quite possibly. That scared him horribly. As if J. Jonah Jameson wasn't enough to deal with…

"Tiger, stop!" he yelled at her. She didn't look at him. "White Tiger, you've got to stop! There's something wrong with you! I know that! Because I can see that something is badly affecting you! Please, let me help you! I've got to help you right now, and you've got to understand what I'm trying to tell you, all right?"

But still, she didn't turn around or give any sign that she was listening to him in any way. Spider-Man sighed, thinking to himself, _I'm sorry for this, Ava. I love you, but I have to do this…for your sake._

And he swung right at her, hoping he would be able to literally knock some sense into her. But it was a failed attempt, as she whirled around and kicked him in the chest. He groaned in pain. "I know you're not evil, White Tiger," he said. "Something's wrong with you, I can see that! Please, allow me to help you! I want to help you, because I love you!" He saw now that the people around him were whispering amongst themselves. "Please don't keep this up! I don't want to fight you!"

He looked into her mask's eyes, and he saw that they were now glowing even more than usual, which scared him somewhat. "What is in you, Tiger? What is happening to you right now? Who has done this to you?"

"No one has done anything to me!" roared White Tiger. However, her voice was much more different than usual. It was deeper and raspier, and it sent chills down his spine. Something was definitely wrong with her, he could say that much.

She outstretched her claws and aimed for him as soon as he stood up. He dodged the blow, but she kicked him again. He landed on his feet, however, and she growled menacingly at him. Even the growl sounded inhuman.

"What in the name of God is wrong with you?" Peter asked. "Good thing Doctor Strange is on his way—"

Suddenly she seized him up from the ground and threw him through the glass window of a bank. He groaned in pain, and he slowly got to his feet, pondering why exactly she had done that—

"Oh wait, now I know," he muttered to himself, horrified. "What's gotten into you, White Tiger? All I want to do is help you, but you're not allowing me. Please, just let me in. I know I haven't always been there for you in the past, but I promise you, I'll be there for you during this time."

She looked at him and began growling again. And then—

"No."

And she ran off, leaving him to stand there, with the people she had been threatening watching the scene unfold before them with wide eyes. It was obvious some of them were a little scared, and Spider-Man couldn't blame them.

"It's all over, people," Spider-Man said. "For now, at least. I've got to go and find her, if you need me. I'm sure that you're all safe from now on, so don't worry about anything while on the way home, all right? This will all be taken care of quite soon, so just return to your normal lives."

He felt something warm trickling down his arm inside the costume, and he looked down to find a cut on his shoulder, likely from the glass. He sighed, and he turned away from everyone else. He reactivated the comm link, and he waited for Nick to answer the call. Hopefully, he would.

"Hello?" came a mocking voice.

"Nick, this is Spider-Man, and this is an urgent situation right now," Spider-Man said.

"You don't say?" Nick said. "We're tracking her down right now. We think we have a pretty good idea of where she might be going, and so we'll tell you when we're sure."

"Just tell me now!" Spider-Man cried. "This is serious! She could be hurting right now! I don't what it's like to have someone controlling you—" Then he stopped for a moment. "Okay, so I do know what it's like to have someone—or rather, some_thing_—controlling you. After all, I had to deal with the Venom symbiote that one time, as well as the Carnage symbiote, and let me just say, none of those are very pleasant. I'll be the only one who can really help her in any way, besides Doctor Strange. You have to allow me, Nick. Please. There's no other way for this to go. If we don't hurry, she might try something even worse than terrorizing a group of people." He sighed. She might—she might try to hurt herself."

Nick was silent on the other line for a minute or so, during which Spider-Man became very impatient. He didn't know what Fury was up to at the moment, but all he cared about was finding White Tiger and saving her from whatever evil was controlling her. He tried to think it all over in his mind, but before he could, Nick cleared his throat on the other end of the line, and he began speaking.

"All right," he said. "I'm going to be sending Doctor Strange down there soon, though, so don't be too surprised when he shows up. But just so you know, if she was strong enough to throw you through that bank's window, then be very careful, okay?"

"Well, she's strong enough to do that anyway, thanks to the amulet, but I understand," Spider-Man said. "Maybe, quite possibly, I'll forgive you for all that you've done after this."

"That would be nice, but first, get back on your mission! White Tiger needs you, and if you don't hurry, something really bad _will_ happen!"

Spider-Man turned off the comm link and hurried outside. He had to make sure nothing bad was about to happen to Ava. But first, he needed to find out where exactly she had gone. It made him wonder for a few minutes. _If I were her, where exactly would I go? I'm not too sure about this, but maybe it's better that I check it out. It's just a thought, and quite possibly, it could help. Especially in a time like this._

He swung off, hoping he was correct.

During that time, his thoughts flicked back to how much he truly loved Ava, and he hoped sincerely that she was all right. There was so much going on at the moment, and he didn't understand it all too well, but he hoped he would be able to by the time it was all over.

* * *

_"Why didn't you kill him?" _Nightmare asked her menacingly. _"You had the chance to kill him, and because you didn't, he is still following your trail! He will find you soon enough! He knows where you are by now, I am sure, and as a result, he will attempt to rescue you, which I wouldn't mind. I would appreciate a little challenge. But he has Doctor Strange with him, I am quite sure. Because of that, this whole plan of mine has been compromised, all because of you! And as a result, you will be punished."_

Ava lay on the floor of the abandoned apartment. It had been the only location Nightmare had forced her to go to, and she was grateful that it was not a worse location, despite the mounds of dirt and dust that littered the floor, the mice that scattered all over it, and the fact her head was pounding. At the moment, all she wanted was for Spider-Man to crash through the window and find her here, and then save her. And if Doctor Strange was with her, then that meant, quite possibly, that she wouldn't have to deal with Nightmare too much longer, something she hoped was true.

_"Your love for him has made you weak," _Nightmare continued. _"You continue to say you love him, but in reality, I am sure that is not completely true. The feelings you share for him are only temporary. Because when I have finished with you, you will feel nothing at all. You will believe he is your enemy, and only that. He is your greatest enemy, and I want you to kill him. Will you follow my orders, little one? Will you allow me to give you this task, or will you continue to be insolent and daft?"_

"If you're asking me to kill him, then it won't work," she said. "You're going to have to kill me first before I'll allow that to happen. Go ahead, try to break my will, but you're not going to be able to. I've trained for moments like this my entire life, and there's no way you can get past the mental barriers I've set up around my mind."

_"If you truly believe that, then I can only hope your love for him grows stronger by the moment, because soon enough, none of that will even matter. I will not kill you, not yet, for you still hold great importance to me. You are surely mistaken about the mind barriers you've set up. I am no ordinary being. I am a demon that will rip you apart from the inside, and while I will not do such things just yet, I will tell you this: when I have penetrated your mind and forced you to rethink every thought you've ever had, you will come to realize there is only one greater force in this world: Nightmare. I am sure you're wondering why I have come here to do this to you, and the story is long, but it should be told. You see, after I was defeated by Spider-Man, Iron Fist, and Doctor Strange in my own realm, everything changed for me. I felt as if there was no point for me to continue on. But I was wrong. I had a reason to continue on. I wanted my revenge against Spider-Man, and I decided coming here would be the best way for it to happen. You must understand that I am not weak, but when I am forced out of my own realm, I must rest, for I will not be able to move on from such an event, if you understand. But it was dangerous for me to even be here. There has been another force in this world, though one more human, and it has haunted me for many generations. But I tell you now, they will not find me yet, I am sure of it. The bloodline has been attempting to keep those such as myself in check for so long, and while I have succeeded in killing some, I fear there is still another out there. But I will end them all, I am sure of it. They will all die."_

Ava thought about this for a moment. She tried to block her thoughts from Nightmare to prove to him her mental barriers were still quite strong. But it didn't help her whatsoever.

_"I see your barriers, and they are very strong, I must compliment you there. But the only problem is, it won't help you for very long. You're going to be dead before long, as a result of your complete stubbornness. I'll kill you very soon, of course, and then move on to my next host—wait…no, I will not have to move on to another host. You have given me all the strength and power I need. I thank you for that. After so long of waiting for another person to help me, I found you, and your will has helped me to become better, more powerful. Soon enough, I will not have to worry about the Doctor's power. I will be able to continue in my quest to end all Sorcerers and Guardians who dare oppose me! __But first, I will make you do something for me. You will do it, whether you wish for it to happen or not."_

"And what would that be?" Ava spat.

_"Kill the one you love. You will find him at his place of residence, or at his place of education, and kill him. I want there to be nothing left of him when you are done. Do you understand me?" _Ava was suddenly unable to speak anymore, and there was a force that seemed to overtake her. She'd felt it before…on the Tricarrier, at the bank….

_"KILL HIM."_


	10. An Unfortunate Revelation

**Chapter Nine: An Unfortunate Revelation**

Harry Osborn sat at his computer, wondering what he could do to stop Spider-Man. Ever since his father had been imprisoned, he had begun a propaganda to end the supposed "superhero." However, he'd received no support thus far, likely because New York was too much in love with the webhead, or so Harry believed. But it didn't matter, he thought. He would be able to convince them soon enough, he was sure. He was just trying to warp the story of his father's arrest into something completely unfair, something Spider-Man likely would not do. Then, just maybe, the whole of New York would turn on their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

_What do they see in him? _he thought. _What do they see in that piece of crap? It's thanks to him we have all these supervillains running rampant through the streets! If it wasn't for him, New York would be just fine! The people of New York haven't realized this just need a good beating. That's all. That's what needs to happen. Maybe I'll be able to kill Spider-Man myself one day—no, that wouldn't be right. I want him to be unmasked, so that the whole of New York can see him for who he truly is! I wonder who _is_ under that mask. They must be going through a good many lengths to not allow anyone to learn his identity._

He looked at the articles on the daily news section of the Web site. He wondered if there was anything on the site about his father's arrest. But no. He had searched so many times, and there was nothing at the moment about that. But there would be soon enough, he was sure. He would make sure of it.

The name of a news article caught his eye. It was titled, "Spider-Man and Fellow Hero Battle In the Streets."

His interest piqued, he clicked the article, waited for it to load, and began to read.

_**Spider-Man and Fellow Hero Battle In the Streets**_

_**Author and Editor: Felicity Harmon**_

_19 November 2015 — Spider-Man is known as one of the greatest heroes to ever live, being called the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man by many. Despite backlash from some sites and newspapers such as the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man has continued to be an inspiration for many, and many have gone as far as to call him their favorite hero. However, the Webhead is now turning heads after several witnesses described a battle between him and another hero, known as White Tiger, who has been seen as an ally to the Web-Slinger._

_Cindy Moon, 18, describes what it was like to witness the battle between the two heroes. "I was very scared," she said. "They confronted each other in front of this group of people, including myself, and they exchanged a few blows among one another. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I just waited there, hoping it would end soon. Fortunately, it did end quickly, but not before I was scared out of my wits." Also according to Moon, neither seriously harmed the other, and a very vital piece of information was dropped by Spider-Man during the fight. "Spider-Man was speaking to her, and he said something I don't think I could ever forget. He told her that he wanted to help her, and his reason for it was that he loved her."_

_There is nothing more to say in this article, but it seems that Spider-Man just might have a little crush. However, this crush seems to be less keen on returning those affections. It is still unknown why they are fighting, as we were unable to get any other witnesses to speak to us. All of New York probably wants to know now, however, what exactly is going on? Why are these two heroes fighting? And how will this all end?_

Despite the short length of the article, Harry couldn't believe what he was reading. So Spider-Man and White Tiger, the two heroes responsible for his father's imprisonment, were now fighting one another? It made him wonder. What could be going on between the two heroes? He read a part of the article again, and thoughts began circulating throughout his mind. He massaged his temples, hoping to think of something that would help him to come to a clear conclusion on the matter.

_Maybe, since it says here he said he loved her, he cheated on her, and so he wants to make their relationship back into what it was? _He amused himself with that for a few moments, and then his hatred returned. _Maybe I can use this against him. Maybe I can go ahead and use this to hurt him. He deserves all this pain for what he has done to me. He deserves my complete hatred! And so does she! They put my father in prison! I don't even know where in the name of God he is now! S.H.I.E.L.D. probably put him in an insane asylum. Pieces of crap…I need to kill them all, somehow…_

He heard a sound behind him, and he jumped. He looked at his clock, and found it wasn't even ten o'clock p.m. yet. He wondered who the heck could be wanting him at a time like this, however. Then his mind realized something before the rest of him caught up with the idea. _He's here._

He turned around, and sure enough, Spider-Man was there on his balcony. Harry's anger became full-blown. He walked to the glass door that led out onto the balcony. Spider-Man came inside, and Harry wanted so badly to punch the so-called hero; however, he held himself back, knowing that there could be consequences if he did so. _Yeah, right, what could he do? He's a wimp! He's not going to be able to do a freaking thing!_

"What do you want?" Harry snapped, though he quickly took it back, hoping to sound more friendly, only to reveal his true beliefs later on. "I mean, what are you doing here, Spider-Man? Don't you have a damsel to be rescuing somewhere around here?"

"So you've heard?" Spider-Man asked. "Then you know now why I need your help."

"Need _my_ help?" asked Harry. "No, you don't need my help. Nor do I need yours. Not after you put my dad away! Where in the name of God is he now? Where the heck did S.H.I.E.L.D. put him? What have you done with him?" Harry noticed how Spider-Man remained silent. "WHERE IS MY FATHER! WHERE IN THE NAME OF GOD DID YOU PUT HIM?!"

"Harry, calm down!" Spider-Man said, hoping that this plan would work somehow. "I know where your father is, and I'm going to say that he is in good hands. You don't seem to be able to understand why they took him away, and I'm going to tell you now. S.H.I.E.L.D. put him away because of what he did." At the expression on Harry's face, one of confusion, he began to explain what had happened. "While I was out one night, White Tiger appeared and we found Taskmaster. Taskmaster injured her. Then, one day, while she was still recovering from the injuries he inflicted upon her, she came to help me and my team when we were fighting him. Taskmaster took her captive after wounding her once more. It took me a while, but I finally found her, in an underwater lab, along with Taskmaster. She later explained to me that it was your father who had hired Taskmaster. That is why we had to imprison him. We had to stop him from doing anything more of that sort, do you understand? If we hadn't imprisoned him, he would have done something even worse."

"That's a lie," Harry growled. "He wouldn't have done anything like that, and you know it! My father is a good man, and I'm going to go ahead and say that S.H.I.E.L.D plans to kill him when they're done with him! That's the greatest guess I could give to this matter, and even without evidence, I know that I am right! Aren't I? You are nothing more than an evil that has to be stamped out, just like the actual arachnids! YOU DESERVE TO BE KILLED FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

Spider-Man was caught off-guard by all this. He didn't know what he was supposed to think for the moment. He tried to recollect whatever thoughts had just slipped him because of the sudden crashing of glass behind them. He whirled around to see what had broken the glass, believing Harry had thrown something at him and he hadn't seen it.

But he was wrong.

White Tiger stood there before them. She was growling inhumanly, and Spider-Man knew her condition was worsening by the minute. He wondered what he could do to stop this. He knew Doctor Strange would be coming soon enough, but he wanted the Sorcerer Supreme to hurry up and arrive so that he could help the girl he loved.

She leapt at him before he had time to see it coming, or even to sense it with the sixth sense given to him by the spider-bite from which he had received his abilities. This surprised him greatly, but he believed he could deal with it for that moment. He would have to catch her off-guard somehow.

She leapt at him again, and this time, he was ready. He kicked her back, which hurt him inside somewhat. He decided it was time he resorted to using force to get the thing that was corrupting her out. He had to make sure this ended soon enough. He didn't know, however, what would happen if he left her alone for too long. It already seemed as if a toll was being taken upon her. He did not know what that meant for her.

"What is happening within you?" Spider-Man asked. "Why is this happening to you?"

"You cannot change me!" she snarled, the snarl itself inhuman as well. It scared him.

"I don't want to change _you,_" he told her. "I just want to stop whatever is forcing you to do this! Please allow me! I love you, Tiger! Allow me the chance to save you! You still have a heart within you, I know! Look inside your heart and realize just how much I truly love you!"

He looked over to Harry, who was staring at him with a very strange expression. It almost seemed for a moment that an expression of realization came over him, but then his face became placid.

She threw a punch at him. The punch missed, but a second punch succeeded in colliding with his stomach, and he tasted blood not long after as she kicked him in the jaw.

A third punch followed, which he blocked, and then a second kick came, which freed her fist from his grip. The third kick came and missed, as did the fourth kick. But he didn't see the fifth, and he was sent flying into a table. The table broke underneath him. He didn't know what he was going to do next. It was obvious she matched him for every move.

He looked around him, feeling dazed, and found with horror his mask on the ground at White Tiger's feet. She stared at him for a few minutes, and then whirled around. She was about to run for it when a gunshot echoed through the air. Blood erupted from her right leg, and she screamed out in horrible pain. The scream, however, was normal. Spider-Man began to think as he heard this. It made him realize something.

She limped out of the room and jumped over the balcony once she reached it.

"P-Peter?" asked Harry.

Spider-Man realized his mask was there once again. He was horrified at this.

"What are you doing, being Spider-Man?" he asked. "What in the name of God is this?" Anger filled his whole body. "My father loved you as another son, maybe even more than me, and yet you allowed him to be taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D.! It's all your fault! You and whoever is under that White Tiger mask! I blame you for all that's happened! You deserve pain and suffering because of this! I'll kill you for this!"

Peter got back to his feet. He reclaimed his mask, and he ran out of the penthouse. He swung off, but not before hearing Harry roar out, "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

He felt horrible for what was happening. His secret identity had just been revealed, and that had made everything that much worse. He could no longer get the reason behind why all this was happening to him. He just wanted to understand, but it seemed that life was going to keep luxury away from him.

"Nick, things just got a whole lot worse," Spider-Man said into his comm link.

"What do you mean?" Nick snapped back.

"Harry—Nevermind. I'll explain it to you later. What's the news on Doctor Strange?"

"He's coming down."

"Good. But I have another request for you, if you don't mind at all."

"What is it this time?"

"Send down the rest of the team. They know how to take White Tiger on. She may have a lot of skills, but we know most of them. Now we just have to deal with this other force. Let's hope it all goes well."


	11. Something Greater

**Chapter Ten: Something Greater**

Ava rubbed her arms. She wanted so badly to get rid of the demon inside her. She still knew of the actions she had pulled while under his control, and she hated it. She felt as if she could do nothing anymore. She wanted so badly to stop. She wanted Nightmare to leave her, to leave and never come back. But she knew, deep down inside, that such a thing would not happen without someone being there to help her. _Please, Peter, come soon! _she thought. _I can't take this. I need you! Please come, before I'm forced to do something so freaking horrible that I can't come back from it! Please help me, Peter! Please!_

"It won't happen," growled Nightmare, from somewhere deep inside her. "He cannot help you, not when you will be the one to kill him. You will be the one to kill him, I say, and do not dare to open your mouth to speak again, girl, or I will force you to injure yourself once more! You will be the one to kill Peter Parker, without possession, or I will possess you myself! Do you understand me, you stupid girl?"

Ava didn't know what she was supposed to do. In her mind, she knew everything was wrong. And yet there was a part of her that believed what was happening was the right thing. She did not wish for that, but she felt as if she could not keep it back anymore. There was no way for her to resist the temptation of giving in, even though she knew how wrong it all was! What was happening to her? Why was she feeling this way? What in the name of God could any of this possibly mean? She just wanted her answers! She wanted them soon, so that she would not have to deal with any of the pain she was enduring.

_"This pain will not leave your body soon enough," _said Nightmare, still somewhere within her. _"It will continue to corrupt you until you give into the corruption and allow me to give you the abilities you've only somewhat exhibited. I must make you my own! You must be my slave. Ever since I returned to this world, there has been a boy following me around. It is not your boy, it is another. He is coming soon, I am sure. And when he comes, I will be dead, likely. But so long as I can make you mine, it will not matter. Unless I am forced out of you, I have no true form, and that means that he will likely have to kill you. I am sure Peter Parker does not want that, now does he? Your friends would not want that. Your deceased father wouldn't want that. But what does his opinion matter? He is dead, and there is no way for him to ever return to this world."_

Ava scratched her head, thinking of what she had just been told. She did not know what she was to make of it. At that moment, nothing seemed to make sense, no matter what she did. She realized she'd thought that so many times now, and she did not know why she couldn't stop thinking those words. She had to stop, though. She knew it was best for her…

"I won't allow this to happen…" she said to Nightmare, though she could feel her will suddenly failing her. She did her best to keep it up, to keep it running through her. It was hard, however. Nothing was making sense anymore…she needed to sleep, but she didn't feel tired. She heard so many sounds all around her, and she could not get rid of them, no matter how freaking hard she tried. "I will not be your slave…I am White Tiger, I am Ava Ayala, and I will not give in to a demon such as yourself! You cannot make me your freaking slave! I am who I was meant to be! Spider-Man is the one I love! I love Peter Parker more than anything in the world! There is One I love more than Peter, but he is the obvious one, is he not? I will not fall victim to your freaking—AHHHH!"

She screamed as what seemed to be a white-hot iron was pressed into her skin. She didn't know where the pain was coming from. She looked down at herself, hoping to see if there was some way she could stop the pain…But she didn't see anything causing the pain. It made her wonder what was going on with her.

In fact, she didn't see her own body at that moment. She was unsure if she could continue on in life now…No! Why was she thinking that way?! _Those aren't my thoughts! I am not thinking that way! Why am I thinking like this! I am not that kind of person! I cannot—No, I can think this way. Because that is who I am. That is what I am. I am going to be better than who I was once before. I'm going to be the best I can be, and that is by destroying the original "me." That wasn't even "me." That was a carbon copy, something that will hold this me back. I cannot allow that to happen. I must be better! I must evolve! Evolve into something more!_

_No, you must not! _came another voice. _You must not! Do you not realize the problems that will come of your change? You will forget all those whom you love! You will only think of them as those you hate! You must understand me! You must understand that there is truly a place for you! There is a place for you, Ava. You have someone who loves you. There are many who love you. Do not give up your identity! You are so much more than you know! You must understand the true meaning of all that you've gone through, and not what Hell you are being forced through at this moment! You must realize this is not the end of the world, not the end of your world! You have to realize you have someway to get through this! Peter will help you! Find your path! Find the way to the truth! Find your way to your freedom! This is not the end of your world! You still have a path! You still have a path! A path to the light! You must see the light, Ava! You must find it! Find it…Find it…find…it…it…Find…You…must…find the…path to…the…light…_

Ava screamed as searing hot pain erupted throughout her body, and she writhed in pain. She could not understand what in the name of God was happening to her. She knew something was wrong, she knew that there was something that she could not control within her. She felt as if blood was pouring from her body, but whenever she opened her eyes, she could see nothing on the floor. It made no sense to her. She needed the pain to stop…She _wanted_ it to stop…

_"DON'T YOU REALIZE THE TRUTH BEHIND THIS PAIN, WHITE TIGER?" _roared the voice of the Demon Nightmare. _"THERE IS NO SALVATION FOR YOU. NO ONE CAN HELP YOU ANYMORE. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO ESCAPE THIS…_HELL…_AS YOU MIGHT CALL IT! THIS IS THE END OF YOUR WORLD, LIKELY, BUT WHY SHOULD I CARE? ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME IS CAUSING YOU AS MUCH PAIN AS I CAN BEFORE I FINALLY KILL YOU. HAHAHAHAHA!"_

"Why would you do this to me?" Ava asked. "Why is a pain such as this right for someone like me? What is your freaking plan for me? What do you have left for me, Nightmare?!"

_"I HAVE SO MUCH IN STORE FOR YOU! YOU WILL FIND SPIDER-MAN AND KILL HIM. YOU WILL KILL THE ONE YOU LOVE, AND YOU WILL HAVE NO SAY IN IT. YOU WILL BE MY SLAVE UNTIL ALL THOSE YOU ONCE CONSIDERED YOUR ALLIES ARE DEAD! UNTIL THEIR BLOOD POURS ACROSS THE GROUND…NOTHING WILL REMAIN OF THEM, NOT EVEN FLESH, I PROMISE YOU THAT. THIS IS THE END OF YOUR WORLD AS YOU KNOW IT! YOU HAVE NO SAY IN THIS! YOU HAVE NO REASON TO DENY ME OTHER THAN YOUR OWN HUMAN STUPIDITY! HUMANS KNOW NOTHING, AND YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW HOW INSIGNIFICANT YOU AND YOUR FELLOW HUMANS TRULY ARE? HIOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE NO MORE THAN TRASH, NO MORE THAN THE EXCREMENT LEFT BEHIND BY YOUR OWN ANIMALS? YOU ARE NOTHING, _NOTHING! _COMPARED TO THOSE OF US WHO SERVE THE GREAT DEMON HIMSELF! HAHAHAHAHA!"_

Ava couldn't take it any longer. Her pain was all too much for her. She felt that she would be unable to continue. She felt something warm dripping down the side of her face. She knew it was blood…but she didn't know if it was real or not…too much was going on. She could not take it any longer…the more the feeling of blood trickled down, the closer she came to unconsciousness. She felt the pain once more…and then she blacked out.

Spider-Man swung across the rooftops of the city. He needed to find her soon…He'd thought these thoughts before. But they continued to swarm throughout his mind. He needed to keep believing in what was to come, in the fact that he would be getting back the woman he loved. He still hated that Harry now knew his secret, but he would have to deal with that later.

_Where is Ava? _he thought. _Where exactly could she be? I can't hope to find her again in a city this big. It's too much for me. I need to make sure I'm going to the right place, however. Doctor Strange will be meeting me soon, I know. I've got to find wherever it is he wanted to meet._

_"There is no need to," _came a voice. _"I am around here somewhere. You just have to find me before someone else does. Now hurry, Spider-Man. I am close by, but you must hurry."_

"Doctor Strange?" asked Spider-Man. "Are you in my head?"

_"Yes. Now where do you think you would find me?"_

Spider-Man thought about it for a moment. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself on a rooftop. His eyes widened, and he wondered where in the name of God he was. It surprised him that he had been seemingly teleported to this rooftop. And if he had been teleported here, then that likely meant…He looked around him, and he found Doctor Strange standing there to his right.

"Hello again, Spider-Man," he greeted. "Where is your friend?"

"I'm trying to find her," Spider-Man said. "I need your help. My team is looking for her as well, but I don't know where we'll find her unless you can help. I definitely know something is possessing her. I just need your help, because I want her to be all right in the end. I couldn't afford to think of what would happen if she was killed while I try to save her."

"I understand, and that is why I will help you," Doctor Strange said. "Now, be silent, and allow me to concentrate." Spider-Man did so, and Doctor Strange closed his eyes. He inhaled and exhaled quite a bit, and for what seemed like ten minutes, he muttered under his breath. Spider-Man waited impatiently, hoping the Sorcerer Supreme would soon give him the answers he was looking for.

_Please, hurry up! I need to save her! She's the woman I love! I don't know what I would do without her! I've never felt a love such as this one before, and you're my only hope! Please hurry up so that I can save her from whatever in God's name has taken her over._

Then Doctor Strange opened his eyes. "I can feel her. But we must hurry," he said. "I believe she is in danger, though it is not because of herself. It is because of your teammates. I believe they have found her, and now they are planning to take her on. This might not end well, as they do not know what they face. We must hurry. Take my hand, Spider-Man, and we will arrive in the midst of their coming battle. We must hurry. Now take my hand!"

Spider-Man did so, and they teleported.

Power Man stood on a rooftop, looking around with the high-tech binoculars given to him by S.H.I.E.L.D. to locate White Tiger. He hoped to locate her soon, knowing she was in some kind of danger, which he'd brought together from what he'd been told by Spider-Man.

_Where are you, Ava? _he wondered. "We've gotta find you soon," he muttered under his breath. "You're in a lot of danger, I think, and if you're in danger, then that can't mean anything good. Better help you before something horrible happens, am I right?" He sighed. He didn't know why he was talking to himself, but he felt it was the best thing to do in a time like this.

He heard a sound behind him, and he whirled around to find White Tiger there. She still had her mask on, but it was obvious she had just gone through something, as there were many tears present in the white matte milliskin costume, and a few cuts and bruises were evident there. He looked the rest of her over, and he found a bullet wound in her leg. He wondered how in the heck that had come to be. The blood had stained her whole leg just below her knee.

"Hey, I don't want to fight," he told her. "We've been looking everywhere for you, and we just want to help you. Please understand me, White Tiger. You're going to be okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, because we are going to keep you safe. Do you understand me?"

"What in the name of God are you talking about?" she snapped. Her voice seemed to include many growls. That was a defininite sign that something was wrong with her. "You can't keep me safe from anything! You've done nothing but screw me over, you piece of crap! I'll kill you for that!"

"You can't kill me," Power Man said. "I'm near indestructible, as you already know, Tiger. I don't want to hurt you, trust me. I'm your friend, and if I have to fight you, please know I love you as a sister, okay?"

He was going to say something more, but he was cut off as she ran forward. He attempted to shield himself, but he was knocked on his behind as she kicked him with a good amount of force. He cursed under his breath about how much that had actually hurt him. He didn't quite understand how that had been possible. She'd knocked him over before, but not quite as hard as she had just now. That had actually hurt…more than it was supposed to.

Something was definitely wrong with her, he knew from that moment on. He needed to find some way to save her from whatever was taking her over. He ran at her, but she stopped him with another kick, sending him flying once more, though he landed on his feet this time.

He attempted a punch, though it was one that had less force behind it. He didn't want to harm her more than needed. He wanted to help her. He _needed _to help her. There was no other way this could be done, however. A fight was needed to bring the outcome. A fight was needed for it to be seen if she could be saved, which he knew was possible. But he needed it to happen for him to have concrete evidence of this fact. He wouldn't give up on her, just as he knew Spider-Man wouldn't give up on her. However, Spider-Man loved her, so that was more of a reason than his, but it didn't matter. He still had his reasons.

Her claws extended, and she ran at him, obviously hoping to make him bleed. He wouldn't allow that, though. She swiped and slashed, but none made contact. Power Man dodged another kick, and then another. He would not allow her to win. He would have to win this time. He knew that well enough.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked her. "We're your friends! You have to understand that fact! I need you to understand that we're not going to be giving up on you, no matter what happens! Please, understand that!"

"I am not your slave!" she roared back at him. "I do not abide by your freaking laws! I am different than the rest of you! I am better than the rest of you! All of you will bow beneath me soon enough! I will become the supreme ruler of this world! Nothing will stand in my way! Not you, not Doctor Strange, not S.H.I.E.L.D., not even Spider-Man! I will be better than all of you!" She laughed, though the laugh was deeper than her voice. She definitely seemed possessed by something.

He aimed another punch, and failed. He was then kicked by her once more, and when he went flying this time, he fell off the rooftop. He plummeted toward the ground, but much to his delight, he found that there was a way for him to survive the fall…not that he couldn't survive it already, of course. His mind had locked up for a moment, however, leaving him unable to realize what he could do.

He grabbed hold of a flag pole, and even though it broke apart, he was able to swing into the building, through the glass. When he landed, he found himself inside the building. He heard glass break, and he looked right in front of him to see White Tiger there. She was obviously getting worse. Her costume had torn a little more.

Power Man readied himself once more, but was saved from having to do anything as Iron Fist and Nova broke through parts of the building. They prepared themselves to battle White Tiger, though they did not wish to.

"White Tiger, stop!" Nova roared at her. "We don't want to hurt you, but we'll use force if we have to! Just stop, and no one else has to be hurt! Do you understand me, A—" He was cut off by White Tiger roaring at him and running at him with full force. He shot a blast of energy at her, though it did not have much power contained in it, as he did not want to hurt her.

She dodged the blast, and as he came right at her, she knocked him out of the air with a powerful kick, something no one had expected. It was one of the most shocking things the trio had ever seen White Tiger do.

"I'm sorry for this," Iron Fist said, and he punched his fist into the floor, which caused much of it to collapse. Power Man got the unconscious Nova out of the way as it collapsed.

White Tiger fell through the cracks, and though the trio wanted to make sure she was alright, dust covered their line of vision, leaving them unable to make sure.

"What the heck happened?" came the voice of Spider-Man suddenly, causing Power Man and Iron Fist to jump. They whirled around to find the web-swinger standing there with Doctor Strange. "Where is she? Is she hurt? What in the name of God are you guys doing?"

"We were just trying to make sure we get whatever is in her out of her!" Power Man replied. "We've gotta save her somehow, don't we?"

"Yes, but not like that!" Doctor Strange answered. He concentrated, and a few moments later, his eyes widened. He said, "Nightmare. I should have known you were behind this."

"Oh, Doctor," said a demonic voice, and Spider-Man didn't have to wonder who the voice belonged to. Soon enough White Tiger jumped out of the hole she'd fallen into. Parts of her costume were now torn, and there were small bloodstains visible, though none seemed too serious, much to Spider-Man's relief. Part of the mask had been torn, and Ava's ebony hair stuck out from tears at the top. "You should have understood that this is your downfall. You knew this was coming, didn't you, Doctor? You knew you would be judged for your failure to address the issue of my return. And for that, you shall pay."

Spider-Man looked over to Doctor Strange. "Wait a minute," he said. "You knew of this?"

Doctor Strange nodded and sighed. "Unfortunately," he admitted. "But I did not know you would dare to use a young girl to satisfy your needs for a vessel! Or that you would need a vessel to begin with, Nightmare! Why?"

"Because, after our last battle, I have become weaker," the Demon in Ava's body replied. "I needed someone I could use to drain strength from and make me stronger in the process. I must be better than all others, and when I have no more use for this pathetic girl, then I will end her life out of mercy once I take all the power she has inside of her. She has so much…It would be a shame to not see be used to the potential it should be…"

"You monster!" Spider-Man snapped at him. "That's the girl I love! How dare you do this?"

Nightmare-in-Ava's-body laughed. "This is the end of your relationship, it seems. How sad…"

Spider-Man's eyes widened as he saw White Tiger run at him. Doctor Strange attempted to stop this from happening with magic, but it failed. "She has far more power than I realized! Their combined strength is larger than my own!" He grunted as he was kicked, but he got back to his feet moments later. Spider-Man, however, was not lucky enough to see this.

He was kicked through a window, and he yelled in pain as he felt some of the glass cut through his costume. Fortunately he spun a web and swung to the nearby church. He realized suddenly this was the church where the priest had been murdered…the church near where he'd found Ava that one night.

It was here that Nightmare had corrupted her.

It was here that it would all end.

He swung through the doors and into the sanctuary. White Tiger was right behind him, and she broke through one of the stained-glass windows. She landed hard, and there was the sound of snap, to which, in her normal voice, she screamed in pain. But then Nightmare's voice appeared again.

"She may be wounded, but she is not weaker!" he yelled at Spider-Man. "I will kill you for your interference, for all that you have done! You are nothing more than swine, and for that, you shall die!"

Spider-Man laughed at the threat, but he had to dodge as White Tiger threw herself at him—or rather, Nightmare threw her at him—and succeeded in doing so. But Nightmare wasn't finished yet. He used Ava's claws to attempt to slash Spider-Man. But Spider-Man was too quick for the attacks, and after saying, "I'm sorry about this, Ava," he kicked White Tiger in the chest, sending her flying into one of the long chairs.

She got back up, grunting in pain.

Deep inside, Ava's consciousness attempted to push Nightmare out of her.

_"Get out of me!" _she yelled.

_"NEVER," _came Nightmare's voice. _"YOU ARE NOTHING, AVA AYALA. I HAVE SEEN YOUR FEAR, I HAVE SEEN ALL YOUR DOUBTS, AND THEY—AS WELL AS YOURSELF—ARE MINE. I SHALL KILL YOU WHEN THIS IS OVER, ONCE I HAVE SAPPED ENOUGH STRENGTH FROM YOUR BODY—YOU HAVE MANY RESERVES LEFT INSIDE YOURSELF, SURELY. I WILL DELIGHT IN STEALING THEM FROM YOU."_

_"That won't happen," _she retorted. _"I will win this. As you said, I have massive reserves of strength. And now I'll use that strength to push you out of my head! You are nothing without a vessel now, Nightmare! I will stop you once and for all for what you've done. You will never return to New York again, do you hear me? Now…_GET OUT OF MY FREAKING HEAD!"

_"NEVER! THIS IS MY VESSEL! IT IS THE ONLY THING I HAVE LEFT TO FEED UPON! I WILL RETURN TO MY REALM IF I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH POWER!"_

_"Exactly what I was hoping for."_

With all her strength, she fought against the Demon and his presence, attempting to push him out. He screamed as she did so, and she began to succeed.

On the outside, Spider-Man saw something strange happening, though he wasn't sure what was supposed to be happening.

Ava got to her feet again, and it seemed Nightmare was still controlling her. She ran at him, and he kicked her back, where she fell onto her back, near where the shards of glass were at.

"YOU HAVE FAILED!" came Nightmare's voice. "NOTHING YOU DO WILL STOP ME FROM WINNING THIS BATTLE, SPIDER-MAN! NOTHING! HAHAHAHA!"

"That's where you're wrong," Spider-Man said. "I know you're in there, Ava. I love you with all my heart, and I won't let you go. I know I've failed in the past, that I haven't always been there for you, but right now, I'm telling you that I'll do everything in my power to help you. I promise you that. Get out of her, Nightmare. Don't you know what happens to Nightmares in the day? They dissipate. You're nothing in the end."

"LIES!" Nightmare roared. But then he screamed, and Spider-Man heard Ava's true voice mingled within his. Then all went south. "IF I CAN'T HAVE HER, THEN NEITHER CAN YOU! NEITHER SHALL YOU, SPIDER-MAN! HAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!"

He used Ava's body one last time, and picked up a shard of the broken stained-glass window. To Spider-Man's horror, Nightmare stabbed it into Ava's right side, deep enough that the entire side of the white costume became stained with blood. Ava screamed, as did Nightmare.

Nightmare suddenly appeared before Spider-Man, having materialized out of thin air. The gray skin, black hair, and yellow eyes of the Demon frightened him, but the Demon was obviously not strong enough to try anything. He was weak. He had been beaten, and he was out of Ava's body.

"You…will…always fail," he said.

"So will you, Nightmare," said Doctor Strange's voice behind Spider-Man, and then Doctor Strange said, "Begone, foul Demon! Leave this Earth! Never return, or there shall be consequences!"

Nightmare dissipated once more, and Spider-Man rushed to Ava, who now lay on her left side, clutching the shard of stained-glass window in her right. She sobbed, and Spider-Man quickly yet carefully pulled the shard out and spun a web onto the wound. Ava went unconscious from the wound, and Spider-Man knew he needed to get her medical attention soon.

But he was happy that the battle was now over, and that nothing like Nightmare would ever bother them again. He had known somehow that there was only one thing that could have defeated Nightmare the way he had. He'd needed something greater than just words or fights. And he'd done it.

_It's over now, _he thought. _And now to get you help, Ava. I love you so much, and I'm so sorry. It won't ever happen to you again, though. I promise you that. It'll never happen ever again._


	12. The Aftermath of it All

**Chapter Eleven: The Aftermath of it All**

Ava heard voices all around her. She wasn't sure who the voices belonged to, but she realized something that she believed was more important. Rather, she _remembered_ something that was more important than all of that, in her opinion. Nightmare was gone from her. She knew that because she felt as if a great weight had been lifted off her chest suddenly. She felt new again, as if there would never be anything evil coming her way ever again. She knew Spider-Man, as well as Doctor Strange, and her friends, were responsible for saving her from the Demon's clutches, and she was grateful for all they'd done.

She opened her eyes, and found in front of her Peter, reading a book. He was still in his Spider-Man costume. She realized that she was in what resembled a hospital gown. She cleared her throat, and Peter jumped. As she giggled, he looked over in her direction, realizing she was now awake. She smiled at him, and he smiled back at her. It was obvious he was happy to see her again. "Thank God," he said. "I was hoping you'd be all right. I got my wish, it seems."

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?" she said. "Where are we? All I remember is the fight. Well, the fights, I should say. I remember that Power Man, Nova, and Iron Fist were battling me, likely because I was corrupted by Nightmare at the time." She sighed. "Peter, I'm so sorry. I should have tried to tell you earlier that there was something wrong with me. But instead, I had to go and screw everything up. And I remember the fight we had at Harry's place, and I feel horrible that, because of me, he knows now who you are."

"That's not your fault, though," Peter said. "I should have done more to protect you. I should have been able to protect you better than I did. I should be the one apologizing right now. You have to forgive me for all I've done, because I definitely failed in that respect. I should have helped you so much more, and all I did was…well, I just didn't help you, that much I know for sure. I'm really sorry about that, Ava, and I promise you that it won't ever happen again. I promise you that. I wish that you didn't have to deal with your injuries. They aren't as serious as they could be, and I'm grateful for that, but you shouldn't have to deal with them in the first place. Please understand that I made a mistake, and please accept my forgiveness. Please."

Ava smiled. "I forgive you," she said. "I know that you never meant for any of this to happen, Peter. I know that my injuries aren't your fault. If they were, then I probably wouldn't truly blame you. That was all my fault, not telling you sooner that something was wrong. But it just didn't seem possible enough for me to do so. That's how it felt, at least. Something was wrong with my tongue. It was almost as if I was being controlled in such a way that I could speak the way I wished. I know that's Nightmare's fault, obviously, and that's the main reason why I'm not going to blame you for anything. For any of this, Peter. Do you hear me? You did nothing wrong, and you never have." She thought about her last sentence for a moment. "Okay, so maybe you have done something wrong before, but in this instance, you definitely haven't. You did more than I could have ever asked of you. You're the reason why I'm laying here now instead of dying as a result of that shard of stained-glass window. That's a pain I never wish to deal with again." She sighed. "But it's all over now, and we'll never have to deal with Nightmare's crap again." She looked around the infirmary, and she suddenly realized where they were at. "We're in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Tricarrier, aren't we?" Peter nodded. "Well, that would definitely explain why you have your msk off. You wouldn't dare to have it off anywhere else, obviously." She laughed a little, as did he, then she returned to speaking to him. "So what about Fury? Have you told him about everything that's happened? About my strange behavior and why I did everything that I did, or is that Doctor Strange's job, if he's still here?"

The sound of a hydraulic door opening reached both their ears, and Nick Fury stepped into the infirmary. "Oh, I've heard," he said, "thanks to both Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, though. Not just one. And may I say, it's good to have you back to your normal self again. I was wondering when we'd be seeing the good side of the White Tiger once more. So, do you have any plans for getting out of here anytime soon? If not, then good. While your amulet might heal you faster than medicine or machines normally would, it has a lot to heal. Your ankle is broken, which I know you've dealt with before. You also have a good amount of scars all over you, and that shard of stained-glass window definitely left its mark. But you should heal fairly soon, or so I think. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess."

"So what about Doctor Strange?" Ava asked.

"He's gone somewhere that I don't know about," said Nick. "Likely to check up on Nightmare. Nightmare is gone, hopefully. But that doesn't mean he won't try to return. It's fortunate that we have a Sorcerer Supreme among us." Nick laughed without much emotion. "The good thing is, you both have time to relax. You won't have to worry too much about waking up again, or training. But there is something else I want to tell you. I remember hearing some of the things you said, about how Nightmare said that there was someone hunting him down, or hunting his kind down. We've begun our search for them. And others of his kind."

"What do you mean, 'others of his kind?'" asked Peter.

"I mean that, since we took you in, we're going to take the others in," said Fury. "We're going to find more of you, as in, young and reckless, and maybe a little stupid, superheroes. We already have some candidates for it, and we—that is, the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I—would like you two to be the ones to train them, with help from Iron Fist, Power Man, and Nova."

"Where are they at the moment?" asked Ava.

"In their rooms, sleeping," Fury replied. "So? What do you think?"

It took a moment for both Peter and Ava to think it over. But after that time passed, they finally said, "Yes."

"As soon as I heal, I'll do it happily," said Ava. "As long as I don't have to deal with too many idiots."

Fury smiled a little. "I'll see what I can do about that." He walked out of the room, leaving the two of them alone with one another.

When he was gone, Peter looked to Ava and said, "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied. "Thank God we don't have to deal with Nightmare anymore. We can just relax and enjoy one another."

Peter sat down on the bed with her and began kissing her. She returned the kiss. They continued this for a few moments, then broke apart. "The good news is, there won't be anything to worry about when you wake up in the morning," Peter told her. "We can just spend a whole lot of time together."

"Thank God," she said, and they continued to kiss.


	13. Green

**Well, this story is finally done, after 13 months, and I am happy to say that I think of this one as a success. The third story in the series will conclude the storyline, and that will be released in February. The song to listen to at the end of this story is _Lost Cause_ by Imagine Dragons. I hope to see all your reviews then! Have a great Christmas, God bless, and I hope this is a really good cliffhanger for you!**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Green**

Norman Osborn sat in his cell, in some prison that he'd never even heard of before. But that didn't matter, or so he believed. All that mattered to him were his plans. At the moment, he was wondering about what he would have to deal with later. He'd already gone through enough of the crap Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. had thrown at him, and he didn't know what more he would have to deal with. He decided that he would just have to suck it up. _How much worse could it be? _he thought. _Fury is full of crap. He's just like Harry, and there's no way that Harry will ever become a man. I don't even count him as my son anymore. He acts as if I'm supposed to call him my son, but I never will call him my son. He's too weak, almost like Spider-Man. I will never allow Harry to come into my life as such. Well, then again, I won't have to. I'll probably never get out of here. But that doesn't matter quite as much to me. At least I can amuse myself. Well, first I'd have to think of such ways to do that. It's not easy, I know that much._ He laughed, and then turned his attention to what was happening in front of him. He saw something that made him wonder.

A man wearing a hat walked into the room. He wore the same garb as a guard would, but Norman knew something was different about him. He was much different, from what Norman could see. Something was almost familiar to him, though Norman had no idea why. But when the man lifted his head, Norman nearly gasped. The man's name was Tony Masters, and he was known by Norman by another name: Taskmaster. He was a skilled assassin that could change his face by using some kind of technology that Norman was unable to figure out. While he was recognized by his true face here and now, there were some differences with his physical appearance, including the lines on his face and his bigger nose.

"Hello, Norman," said Taskmaster. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has," said Osborn. "I actually believed you to be dead, after your lab exploded. What is it you want, Masters? If you haven't noticed, I'm stuck here!" He showed the chains that held him there. "I have no way to get free, if you haven't noticed. Do you have anyway that you could help me? Please, I could use your assistance right now."

"I know," said Taskmaster. "And I've brought you something that will help you."

Norman looked down, and he found a vial of green substance on a serving plate. He had no idea what it was. "What in the name of God is that, and what do you expect me to do with it? Drink it?"

"Yes," Taskmaster said. "It's a formula concocted by you years ago. You likely forgot about it, and I'm not surprised. That happens quite a lot, I know. You've had to deal with so much, and so I know that you don't remember too much of the past few years."

"What is that supposed to mean?" snapped Osborn. "I'm not stupid, Masters, you know that!"

"Yes, I know. But just take it. Or rather, listen to me for a moment, and then take it."

Osborn sat back on the wall, crossed his arms, and began to listen.

"I've already begun forming a team of supervillains to take Spider-Man and the other heroes down. The team includes Octavius, Electro, Rhino, Beetle…and others," Taskmaster explained. "They're all well-trained. I'm still looking for a thirteenth member, however. You and I will be the eleventh and twelfth."

"What is this team supposed to be called?" Osborn asked.

"The Sinister Thirteen. I didn't come up with the name, however, so if you don't like it, then don't blame me. I have plans for finding the thirteenth member. It'll all work out soon, I'm sure. This is going to be good, and I know you will love it just as much as I do. But first, you have to do something for me. Do you understand me, Osborn? You have to drink what is in this vial. Then you will be ready."

"What will it do to me?"

"Make you stronger. Make you smarter. Make you better…better than Spider-Man."

As soon as he heard those words, Osborn grabbed the vial, took the stopper off, and raised it to his mouth. But then he saw Taskmaster leaving. "Where are you going?"

"It has some…side-effects," Taskmaster said. And then he was gone.

Osborn sneered, believing Taskmaster was just exaggerating. He drank the vial, and as soon as he did so, he felt fire. But then he felt something more. He felt as if there was fire burning in him. It felt horrible, but it felt so good…

He'd never felt such power as this before. He loved how it felt, even though there was a pain in him that was suddenly intensifying. He believed it was a feeling he'd never felt before, one that he could not fully describe. He was just happy it was in him, however.

As the burning sensation intensified, he closed his eyes, and he felt there was something in him, changing. He opened his yellow eyes, feeling the great power spreading through him. Growls broke through the air, and as pain filled his body, Osborn broke his chains and roared.

**End of Book Two**

**The Story Will Continue and Conclude in Book Three**


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